Affaire de Coeur
by UndeservingHero
Summary: A tall-well known man returns to town with an unexpected person in tow and Kevin just has to know what exactly has gotten into his old rival. NSFW
1. Tall, Dark, and Familiar

_[D: So… um… this is a fucked up little headsode that I had. The idea hung around. And will not go away. So here you are. I hope you enjoy. If not, please spare me no feelings. I won't cry. I promise._

_A little bit of back story. They're around 26. Maybe 28. Edd has gotten his Masters in chemical engineering. He has just returned from Grad school. Kevin owns an auto shop.]_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy. Never will either. _

_Chapter One_

A mumbling of curses streamed out from under the Ford Fusion up on the rack. Oil blackened work boots stuck out from under the car's engine block on the end of long toned legs wrapped in dirty ripped jeans. A loud clanking rang out into the busy shop followed by more cursing.

The tall, lanky figure standing by his feet chuckled to himself. Kevin hadn't changed much in four years. He found himself rather glad of that fact. With mischief in his gap-toothed smile, he gently nudged the calf above the grotesquely dirty boots. A distracted grunt came in acknowledgement of the nudge. A particularly nasty curse filtered out from under the car and the standing man stifled a laugh. Suddenly, the red-head slid out from under the car and stared up at him. "Yeah?" he said in his deep voice, acquired during their trip through pubescence. "What can I do for you?" His ball cap was still in place, even after years of graduating from high school. Light red brows came down over confused, slightly annoyed green eyes.

Edd grinned down at his old-time adversary. "Greetings, Kevin. It has been a long time, but I would like to think that you have no forgotten what I look like."

The annoyance drained out of his face and surprise took its place. "Double-D? 'S that you?" He rolled out further and stood, his long frame filling up a fair amount of space. "I almost didn't recognize you, dude. It's been a long time."

Edd laughed. "Indeed it has, Kevin."

Kevin looked Double Dweeb up and down. He was no longer the awkward teenager he had picked on. He was almost as tall as Kevin himself. He was still slim but not gawky as he had been. "Aha! I figured out why I couldn't place you. You're missing your hat." The red-head grinned at noticing. Short raven hair was swept back from Edd's face. A shock of white was at his right temple, confusing Kevin.

Edd smiled before he could mention it and said, "Yes, it seems to have been taken from me. But I don't mind all that much anymore." He gave a half shrug.

"Oh," was all Kevin said until it dawned on him that Double-D shouldn't be standing in his shop. "Why are you here, Double Dork?" The name was said with nostalgic affection more than malice so Edd let it slide for old times' sake.

He chuckled. "Well, my brakes needed to be changed and I was told by my mother that a certain old friend owned this particular shop."

Kevin titled his head, glad of the business from the old neighbourhood even though he'd moved out three years ago. "What kind of car do you drive? Brakes are no big thing to do. It'll take about an hour."

Edd nodded in agreement. "An hour is acceptable. I have some errands I can run on foot, figuratively, of course. I drive the black XC60 Volvo out front." He took a spare keyring out of his pocket and held it out in front of him. "Take your time, though. I am in no hurry. I have no particular course for the day."

Kevin took the keys from his old nemesis, not feeling anything but respect for the guy in front of him. He'd gone off to college while Kevin had had to get a real job. Curious, he asked, "How long have you been back in town?"

Double-D raised an eyebrow, but answered, "I arrived the day before yesterday. I have been unpacking in my new apartment or I would have run my errands earlier. I have been quite preoccupied lately."

Kevin nodded in sympathy. "I can understand that, dude." He spun the keys around his finger to distract himself from the understanding he felt toward the Ed.

Edd held up a hand and smiled in farewell. "I will return in an hour, Kevin. I will see you then. Thank you."

Kevin felt his mouth return the smile of his old enemy and couldn't figure out why he liked the Double-D he had just been reacquainted with when the adolescent buried deep down had just laughed at him. He watched the gangly figure stroll down the street in black slacks and a pressed oxford and tried to shake away his sense of nostalgia.

_[Headlong]_

Double-D took a deep breath of the air around him, relaxing with the familiar smells from his childhood of the neighbourhood coffee shop and the candy store that had been the centre of their universe as children. Just for old times' sake, he stopped in and got a small bag of jawbreakers from the old man behind the counter who smiled and made small talk with him.

Waving, he stepped back out onto the street. He walked all the way down and took a right into the centre of town to the post office to change his address and post a few letters to prospective labs he had been interviewed for. He popped a jawbreaker in his mouth as he left the post and tooled down the street to one of the only clothes shops in town. He browsed there, noticing not much had changed since he had last perused their wares, but he found a few new shirts that would be acceptable to wear and a new tie that didn't clash too harshly with his clothes. Smiling at his past self that had worn a tie with a t-shirt to middle school, he paid the cashier and walked back to the coffee shop to order a sandwich and chai tea.

Time to himself had become a commodity that was in high demand because of recent events and he enjoyed it while he could. He relaxed for a brief moment into the metal chair on the patio of the café and just took a moment to breath, doing nothing more than listening to the sound of people walking by and cars passing on the street. He closed his eyes and revelled in the sense of no responsibility for the moment. The day was warm and he had missed such moments to collect his thoughts. The strong intellectual moments of his youth had gone with the coming of college when it was constant noise. There was no reprieve from the constant bombardment of knowledge, but he wouldn't have traded it for anything. He was on his way to making a good life for himself.

A loud horn from a passing vehicle startled him into sitting up straight. Laughing at himself for jumping, he stood, leaving a tip under his teacup. He gathered his purchases and sauntered back to the auto shop that Kevin was in charge of. He glanced at his watch and noticed he was fifteen minutes overdue. Chiding himself slightly, he quickened his step to make up for lost time. It was unlike him to be late for anything; of course, he usually didn't get a moment to just relax much anymore.

His SUV was parked out in front of the shop two parking slots away from where he had left it. He opened the back door with the remote and deposited his bags before going into the noisy shop again. He found Kevin in conversation with a short stocky man that looked angry about something. Kevin looked like he was having a hard time containing his own anger, but was managing it as he explained something to the shorter figure very slowly. Edd wondered at the change in Kevin. Before high school, he would have just started yelling at the shorter man and probably punched him. Edd supposed that time really did change people in some ways. He refrained from leaning on anything lest he soil his shirt, but he locked one leg and crossed his arms to wait out the row.

The angry little man stomped away. Kevin took off his hat and ran a hand through his auburn hair. Frustration brought his brows down over his eyes and lines creased his forehead. He tugged his hat back down over his hair and turned around to, presumably, return to the car he had been working on earlier. He stopped when he saw Edd. The anger slowly eased from his face and he walked over to Double-D. "You all set or did you need something else?" he asked politely in a Kevin way.

Edd shook his head. "No. I just wanted to thank you again. Your service was expeditious. Should I go to the office to get the bill?"

Kevin waved a hand in front of him. "No. I've got the invoice right here," he said as he pulled a pink slip of paper out of his pocket. It was neatly creased as if it had recently been stuck there. As he held it out, Edd noticed that his hands were cleaner than before but they still bore the mark of a mechanic's hands, black oil had settled into the creases of skin and cuts that were half-healed. He took the crisp paper from Kevin and unfolded it. The price was reasonable and he nodded. Kevin seemed as if he wanted to say something else, but he fished Edd's keys out of his pocket and handed them back too. "Bring her back if you ever need anything else done. It's a nice car. I'm not really that great with the Hybrid components yet, but I've got a guy here who is. If you need it."

He scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable, and Double-D felt a smile tug on his mouth. "Thank you, Kevin. You have been most gracious."

The red-head chuckled. "Are you ever not going to be an egghead?"

Double-D smirked. "You would be surprised, Kevin," he said cryptically. He waved the invoice in farewell. "I will see you around, Kevin. Have a nice afternoon." The lanky figure went outside and turned toward the office to pay for his brakes.

Kevin took his cap off and scratched at an itch on his temple. "What the hell did he mean by that?" A loud call of his name had his head turning back to the other side of his shop where one of his boys needed help lifting something into the engine block. Cramming his hat back down, he went back to work, forgetting about the Double Dork for the moment.

_[Indignity]_

Kevin picked up the phone after dashing out of his bathroom, soaking wet with a towel around his hips. "Yeah?"

"Hey! 'Sup, Kev?"

He smiled. "Hey, Nazz. I'm buck ass naked, if that's what you're asking."

She laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. You can call me back when you're not naked."

He chuckled. "No, just hang on a second. I just need to dry off. Let me put the phone on speaker." He hit the proper button to switch it over and called out, "Okay, go ahead."

"I heard Double-D stopped by the shop today," she said.

Kevin stopped in drying off his shoulder. He'd almost forgotten about that. "Yeah, he did. He just needed his brake pads changed. No big deal."

Nazz paused for a moment. "I heard something else too." Her voice sounded concerned.

Kevin went over and picked up the phone, still naked and wet, but when Nazz sounded like that, she was worried. He switched it back over and held it up to his ear. "What's going on, Nazz?"

He heard her switch hands and sigh. "Well, I heard he didn't come back to town alone, Kev."

Shocked, he pulled his phone away to look and see if he was actually talking to Nazz about Double-D, captain of the Dweebs. He sifted through the memories of their brief encounters from earlier that day. He hadn't been wearing a wedding band. But that could just be Edd being a stereo-typical OCD person that didn't like wearing jewellery. "Who did he come back with?" he asked, curiosity threatening to eat him up. Double-D just didn't seem like the kind of person to bring a girlfriend back from college.

Nazz's voice was very quiet when she told him. Kevin lost his grip on his phone and fumbled to recover it before it hit the floor. He clutched it hard as he pressed it back against his head. "Are you sure?"

Nazz hummed in affirmative. "Yeah. My mom called me and told me that he pulled up to his parents' house two days ago. He had him in tow. I don't really know what's going on though. I just couldn't believe it."

Kevin sank onto his bed. He couldn't believe it either. Double-Dork. Who would have thought?


	2. Baby Buggy Blues

_[D: The first chapter was kind of short and uneventful, but I had to set up everything else. Forgive me for a dawdling chapter. Hopefully this one will whet your appetites for more to come. I'm delusionally tired, so maybe it will be fantastic. Or not. Probably not. _

_Forward unto the plot!]_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Eds or Kevin. _

_Chapter Two_

The red-head decided to pay his own mother a visit the next day. He hadn't been over in a month or so and he felt kind of bad. He picked up an apple pie on his way over because it was his mom's favourite and was guaranteed to gain him brownie points. When he pulled into her driveway, he glanced behind him to Double-D's old house. He was so curious about the mystery of the cul-de-sac. Edd's parents didn't really talk to anyone. They were rarely ever home, to be honest. But maybe his mom would know something. He opened the saddle-bag on his bike, pulled out the pie and tromped up the front steps to the house he had grown up in.

He walked in, knowing she would be in the living room watching TV. Sunday afternoon was always her time to watch the Soaps she had missed throughout the week. He found her as predicted. He leaned against the doorframe and smiled. "Hey, mom."

_[Caution]_

He waved to his mother as he stepped out of the house. Disappointment clouded his mood. She hadn't even known about the rumour. She worked during the night and slept all day so no one called much. He walked to his bike and was about to throw his leg over when a black Volvo pulled into the cul-de-sac and up to Double-D's parents'. He watched the tall figure he had seen only the day before get out. He opened the back door and reached in to get something out. He pulled a bag over his head to hang off of his shoulder. He fiddled with something for a moment and then pulled out a bassinet.

Kevin grabbed onto the seat of his bike so he didn't fall down in shock. So it was true.

Double-D was a dad.

_[Coincidental]_

Edd's mother cooed over the baby in the pram. He had never seen her quite so animated, but he supposed it had been that way when he was an infant too. His son was still too small to move around much, but he made soft noises that melted the genius's heart. He looked down at the dark-headed child and felt a weird fuzzy feeling he hadn't known he needed until he had seen him for the first time.

His mother looked up at him. Her blue eyes matched his own. She gave him a warm smile that he had missed. "Eddward, dear, come sit down. We have quite a few things to discuss," she said, kindly.

He could always count on her to be the calm oasis in the middle of his raging storm. He sat on the other side of the pram. The little one stirred and started to fuss so Edd pulled the buckles away and gently lifted the infant out, setting him against his shoulder. After he was settled down, the elder looked to his mother. "Where would you like to start, mother?"

She folded her elegant hands in her lap and met her son's eyes. "Eddward, I realise that you have taken responsibility for him, and I'm proud of you for that." She offered a small smile and adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses. "But both your father and I would like to know just how this happened."

Edd ran a hand over his son's back and looked down at the pudgy sleeping face. He took a deep breath to try and collect himself. His mother always knew how to get to the heart of the matter. His vision lost focus as he remembered. "Well, mother, I met a rather beautiful woman while I was at school. I apologize for not writing to you about her. We were together for almost two years. I was planning on asking her for her hand in marriage.

"One night we were celebrating a friend's acceptance into a spectacular science program in California. We both had a bit too much to drink and she conceived." He cleared his throat, blushing at the thought of talking to his mother about his sex life. "When she found out, she told me she did not wish to have children. She was prepared to give him up for adoption so we could 'live together and create new ways to save lives'. I refused to sign away my rights. She grew angry with me and resented me. I told her that if she wanted, she could give me full parental custody and I would not ask for child-support and the like. She would never have to see either of us again as long as she carried him to full term." He ran a hand over his face, erasing long dried tears. "I could not believe that I was prepared to marry a woman who had no interest in creating new life." He shook his head at himself. "I'm sorry, mother." He looked over at the woman who had lovingly raised him. "I'm sorry if I have disappointed you."

She moved the pram to sit on the table and shifted closer to him, taking his hand. Her smile was soft, as were her words. "Eddward, you have not disappointed me. You did the only thing you could have done. You took responsibility for your actions. The only thing I'm worried about is you. Are you alright after that?" She squeezed his fingers in a show of support.

He gave her a small sad smile and looked down at the infant snoozing on his chest. "I think I will be. I have him after all." He touched the soft dark hair and a real smile tugged at his mouth. "I will be. We will be."

His mother patted his arm. "I'm glad to hear that, Eddward. I really am." Her blue eyes were happy in only the way a mother could be for her child.

_[Assurance]_

Kevin pulled his bike into a parallel parking spot on the side of the street in front of the only café in town. The girl behind the counter smiled at him when he walked in. She looked about seventeen. Maybe. Her braces and pigtails kind of made him feel awkward, but he gave her a smile and ordered an iced coffee and a Panini. He went and sat outside at one of the tables with an umbrella. The sunny day prompted him to pull his leather jacket off and hang it on his chair. He leaned back and watched people he had known his entire life walk by. He waved to the more polite ones or the younger ones he knew from school.

The heat of the day wasn't quite to the point of uncomfortable yet. Late spring was usually rather hot in Peach Creek but it hadn't reached its peak yet. He munched on his sandwich and mulled over what he had seen the day before. He still couldn't believe that the dork had a kid. Out of the Eds, Double-D had always been the most responsible. How had he slipped enough to get a girl pregnant? Kevin couldn't even picture Double-D having sex. The younger version of the brunette had been so uptight and mysophobic Kevin couldn't even imagine him getting close enough to someone to do that.

He rubbed a hand over his face and leaned his head back on the chair. The sun peaked around the edge of the umbrella and lanced across his face.

A familiar voice called his attention with his name. "Hello, Kevin."

He opened his eyes and looked in front of him. Double Dork was standing at the edge of the shade with a weird backpack thing strapped to his front. A moment later, he realised that it was actually a baby carrier. A tuft of black hair stuck up out of the top. He had a protective hand placed on the baby's back. "Hey, Edd."

"Would you mind if we joined you?" Polite as ever.

"Sure, man, sit. Want me to get you anything to drink?" he offered.

Edd smiled and waved away the offer. "I'm fine thank you. I just wanted to speak with you." He pulled out a chair and sat carefully.

"That's fine by me. Who have you got with you?" Kevin asked, finally ready for some answers.

Edd looked down to the pouch on his chest and grinned. "This is my son, Reade."

All Kevin could see was black hair. He moved to the seat next to Edd to get a better look at the kid. A pudgy face had a fist stuffed up next to its mouth. Stubby legs wrapped in a onesie stuck out the sides. "Son, huh?" he said quietly so he wouldn't disturb the infant.

"Yes, he was rather unexpected." Double-D chuckled. "Well, that's a rather large understatement. He was a huge surprise."

"So who's the mother?" At Edd's slightly pained look, he waved his hands. "Nevermind. It's alright. I was just curious."

Double-D smiled slightly. "It's quite alright Kevin. I would want to know too. She was a fellow student of mine at school. I met her in the engineering lab. She is a pharmaceutical chemist now."

Kevin was watching the kid. He had woken up and was sleepily looking back with blue eyes like his father's, sucking on his fist. "He's a cute kid. But what happened?"

Edd retold the story he had explained to his mother the day before.

The red-head sat back in shock. "That's harsh, man. Why would she do that?"

Edd raised a hand as if to shrug. "I haven't a clue, Kevin. I suppose it's because she thought we were going to make millions together off of my ideas and her chemist's abilities. I believe she was more worried about money than an actual meaningful existence." He looked saddened by that and Kev wished he could do something for Double-D.

He took his cap off and scrubbed his hand over his face. "Man, you're definitely a stronger person than I am." He reached out a hand to touch Reade's hand and noticed that his hands were still covered in black from work. He dropped his hand, not wanting to upset Double-D. He just watched the little one wriggle around in his pouch.

Double-D softly said, "It's alright, Kevin. You can touch him."

A light flush at being caught spread up his neck to his ears but he raised his hand again and wriggled his forefinger into the small hand. A surprisingly strong grip wrapped tiny fingers around it. He smiled and rubbed a thumb on the soft skin feeling his heart squeeze just as tight as the little hand. "You had better be careful with this one. He's likely to break everybody's hearts."

Edd chuckled. "That he is. I thought the same thing when they gave him to me in the nursery."

Kevin looked up at Edd and felt a weird wriggling feeling in the bottom of his stomach because it was so strange to see the kid he had bullied be a strong independent person with a small child. And he seemed to be happy about it. "I have a lot of respect for you, Double-D."

Edd looked startled at the comment. "Whatever for, Kevin?"

Kevin snorted and shook his head. "Dude, you have a kid and no wife around to help you look after him. You have a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering. You survived my lame ass as a kid. You're pretty much the perfect guy."

Red bloomed on Edd's cheeks. "W-well, thank you, Kevin. I have always believed that one must accept the past, manage the present, and work for the future. This is no different. He was unexpected but not unwelcome." Kevin's eyebrow shot up underneath his hat. Edd smiled. "I've always wanted a family. I now have one, small as it is."

Kevin's finger was slowly let go as Reade fell asleep again, lulled by his father's voice. "How old is he?" he asked as he sat back and met Double-D's eyes.

"He will be six months old in a week. He's growing quickly."

"I'm sorry, but it's really weird to see you with a baby," Kevin blurted.

Edd laughed. "I can honestly say that it sometimes feels weird to have a baby."

Kevin flushed and looked down. "Sorry. I'm just not used to seeing you around. And I'm really not accustomed to babies. It's just… I dunno… odd. Sorry," he said again.

Edd patted his arm. "It's quite alright, Kevin. I understand. Reade surprises a lot of people."

Kevin looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I guess." They sat together for a while, just watching Reade. Curious, Kevin asked, "Are you back in town for good or is this just a layover?" He wasn't quite sure why he was interested. Double Dork hadn't ever really been on his mind while he was gone, but now that he was back, he cared.

Double-D nodded. "I am staying. I have plenty of offers to go elsewhere, and I might one day, but right now, I'm going to get my teaching license and go to work at the high school."

"Really? Why? I mean, you could be making a lot of money with what you do, couldn't you?" Kevin's brows came together and his lips turned down in confusion.

Edd looked up, avoiding Kevin's eyes. "Well, I've always loved teaching things to others."

"I remember," said Kevin with a smirk.

Edd chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure you do. But I'm not really in a position to go work twelve hour shifts in a lab right now. Reade won't be this small forever and I want to see him grow up. Besides, I didn't get a Masters to go work in the field really. I did it to learn all I could about something I loved doing. And if I'm working at the school, I can leave and be home in three minutes even if I walk."

Kevin nodded. "There is a distinct size difference between here and a big city."

Edd's gap-toothed smile made another appearance. "Indeed." He ruffled his short hair and slouched slightly in his seat, drawing Kevin's attention back to the white streak in his hair.

"Hey, Double-D, can I ask you a question?" He felt kind of uncomfortable invading his personal life, but he was really curious. Edd looked over and nodded. "Why is there a streak of white in your hair?"

Double-D's brows came together and he touched his temple. "I… uh… Well, I was born without pigmentation on that part of my scalp. The cells lacked the melanin to create pigment. The hair grew in white. That's why I always wore a hat when we were children. I was already strange enough. I didn't need any more problems." He shrugged. "It doesn't bother me so much anymore. Apparently, young women find it rather attractive that I have white in my hair for whatever reason."

Kevin chuckled. "You turned into quite the lady killer, didn't you, dork?"

Edd's face pinked but he was still smiling. "Only the one, Kevin. Only the one."

_[D: Surprise! It's a baby and not a man! Hoo Ha! _

_I realise that Kevin is kind of a little mellow, but they are around a baby and babies have that effect on people. Hope you enjoyed. I should have the next chapter tomorrow or the day after. Please leave me feedback. I love hearing from you!]_


	3. Lucy, You Got Some 'Splainin' to Do

_[D: *Whines*I'm sorry I'm so late. I literally could not get the words out. I stared at the cursor for two hours. I'm so sorry~~~ I was sitting in the hospital all day waiting on my dad to get out of surgery, so I'm sorry if this chapter isn't spectacular. I'm not really in the mood. But I love you guys and I wanted to give you this god-awful beast of a chapter. I'm so sorry it's so long._

_OMG, I DID NOT MEAN TO WRITE THAT, KEVIN! _

_He made me write the lemon. I swear. Dear Jesus, that was unintentional._

_P.S. I live in a rather southern part of the US and the people in the waiting room made me feel like Double-D. Seriously.]_

_Disclaimer: I don't own it. Yadda yadda yadda._

_Chapter Three_

The periodic electronic buzzing over the phone line drove Kevin crazy the longer it when on. When she finally answered, he was almost ready to hang up. "Hey, Kev."

"Nazz," he sighed in relief.

Her voice was alarmed. "Kev, what's wrong? What happened?"

He puffed out a breath of air. His voice was a little stronger when he said, "I… uh… I had lunch with Double-D and his son today."

Nazz was quiet for a moment; he could hear the kids playing in the background, the occasional screech announcing rough-housing. "So he does have a son…" she said thoughtfully. "Who would have thought. Out of all of us. Double-D…" she trailed off in thought as if considering the implications and whatnot. Kevin told her Edd's story and waited for her verdict. "That's rough, man," she observed. "I really hate that it happened that way. He's always been a relatively nice guy. Kind of a smartass."

Kevin laughed. "You can say that again. He always made me feel stupid."

"Dude, he made all of us feel stupid. But he was never really aware that he was so much smarter, ya know?" Nazz's voice was reflective and sympathetic.

Kevin looked at his grease-stained hands and thought about past decisions. "Yeah. He was really just smart for the sake of knowing things." He could almost hear Nazz nod. "You know what he told me today?"

"Hmm?" She sounded like she was cooking dinner from a metal banging with her kids running around in the background.

He smiled at the thought of Double-D's Reade playing with her two sons. When he thought about what he was saying, his smile faded. "He… uh… He told me he could be a millionaire, Nazz. He told me that and then he told me that he wasn't going to do that because he wanted to see Reade grow up."

"Woah." He heard a lid clang down on a pot. "He really said that?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." His head hung between his shoulders as he hunched forward on the edge of his bed. "God, Nazz. He's so much better than I would have been in his situation."

She sighed. "Kev, you can't know that. Hang on just a sec." She yelled at her kids to go wash their hands. "Sorry. Look, Kev, you are a great person, your past notwithstanding. You have made a name for yourself and you make good money and have given people jobs. That's important. Honestly, I think you would want to see your kid grow up too, even if you had the chance to be a millionaire. I think it would be important for you too."

Heat flooded to his face, reaching back to his ears and down his neck. "I… uh… Thanks, Nazz."

He heard the smile in her voice. "You're a good guy, Kev. Don't ever sell yourself short. Look, why don't you come over tomorrow night and have dinner with us. The boys would like to see you, I'm sure."

He chuckled. "You do realise that your husband and I really do not get a long and haven't for most of our lives right?"

She laughed. "I know. But you and Eddy can totally tolerate each other for one night over a plate of pasta." Her voice grew serious. "Come on, Kev. We miss you."

He rubbed his eyes with a thumb and fore-finger. One thing he couldn't stand was disappointing Nazz and the two hellions she was raising. "Alright. I'll come."

She yelled to her boys that he was coming over the next night and he heard woops of joy and snickered. "You do realise that you're not going to get them in bed on time, right?"

She laughed. "It's a Friday. It's fine. They'll just miss their cartoons on Saturday."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Nazz. Thanks for talking to me."

"Kevin, you know you can always call me. No matter what."

His mouth stretched into a grin. "Yeah. Pretty sure your dork is tired of picking up the phone when I do, though."

She cracked up. "I'm sure you're right. I'll see you around, Kev."

"Bye, Nazz."

He hung up the phone and just stared at the screen for a minute. A picture of all of them from the old neighbourhood looked back. It had been taken the day they graduated by his mom. He was standing next to Nazz and Rolf was behind him. Double-D was on his other side, gap-toothed smile on display. He was still wearing his hat and looked like a dweeb. A few inches shorter than he was now, long black hair peeking out from under that stupid sock. Everything had been turned up-side down when he'd shown back up with Reade. And without the hat.

Kev was riveted by the face he had grown up with, never really hating him. He couldn't understand what it was about Double-D that he couldn't quite stop dwelling on. Maybe it was because he had changed so much but was still the same dork he'd grown up with. He couldn't figure out what it was that interested him so much. He groaned and dropped his phone on the bed beside him and flopped back, frustrated. "Fuck," he said to the empty room.

_[Ratiocination]_

"Uncle Kevin!" Twin blonde boys tackled him at the knees and he steadied himself on the doorframe. Laughing he hoisted them into the air to sit on his shoulders. In the midst of their delighted screams and giggles, he entered the house and kicked the door closed. "Nazz! I think you're missing two demons!" he called into the house.

Her perpetually round face had a million-watt smile as she came around the corner. "Hey, Kevin. Yes, it seems these rascals escaped the dungeon. They were supposed to be cleaning it." She gave them the hairy-eyeball when Kevin plopped them onto their feet. They had enough common sense to run off to their room to finish.

Chuckling, he stepped forward and gave his oldest friend a hug. "Hey, Nazz."

She wrapped her thin arms around him and squeezed. "I told you we missed you."

"Get off my wife, Casanova."

Kevin looked up and saw Eddy standing in the living room. He grinned and slowly let Nazz go. "Yo, D—Eddy."

Eddy looked slightly surprised at the lack of insult. He shoved his hands in his pockets with the non-existent need to row.

The boys thundered down the stairs. "We're done, mom!" they said together.

Kevin chuckled. "I'm never going to get used to that."

Eddy grumbled, "Neither will I."

Nazz just laughed and herded the twins into the kitchen to wash up. Kevin and Eddy wandered in after her. They sat and laughed together while the boys tried to throw their peas at each other across the table. Kevin and the boys helped her clean the table and Eddy left for work, warning "Casanova" to stay away from his wife.

The boys went to play a video game and Kevin and Nazz sat on the sofa down stairs with coffee. She looked over at him when he was quiet for a long time. "What's up with you, Kevin? You've been subdued all night. Did something happen at the shop?"

He shook his head and sat forward, rolling the coffee cup between his hands. "No… It's just… This is going to sound stupid…" he trailed off and contemplated the black liquid.

She sat her cup on the table and moved to sit where they were touching. "Kevin, you don't sound like you think it's stupid. What's going on? You've been acting weird these last few days."

He looked up and saw that she was really worried. Her blonde brows were down over her eyes, a deep crease between them. He sighed and looked back down. "I… Fuck… I want kids. Everyone but me has a significant other and… I don't know… My fucking biological clock is ticking or some shit. I envy you, you know. Even if you are with someone I can't stand." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "You have two great kids and a great marriage. You guys rarely have problems. I want that. And it's hitting me all at once."

"Oh, Kevin." She laid a hand on his arm. "That's not stupid. That's very poignant. You haven't dated anyone since we were in high school. Of course you're feeling it. Eight years is a long time, Kev. Even for someone like you."

"Like me?" he asked, looking over.

"Independent. Head-strong. You never really needed anyone. Ever since we were kids, you've been the most self-contained person. I think you're feeling it now because the last person you would have expected to have a family, showed up one day and had one, already made."

He took a long breath and let it out. Maybe Nazz was right. Maybe Edd's little Reade was the whole reason. Kid had stolen his heart after all. "You're right. I know it. But it's still so fucking weird…"

She laughed. "You've got that right."

_[Flute]_

He threw the wrench up again, watching it flip end-over-end and then descend into his hand again. He caught it with gritty fingers as he sat in his office chair; hiding away from Lee Kanker while one of his boys took care of whatever problem she was having this week. Woman seriously needed to find a husband because she was driving everyone in Kevin's shop insane complaining about imagined noises coming from her engine because she needed attention. He'd taken to hiding because she had repeatedly tried to hit on him and he'd been repulsed.

He sighed as he threw the wrench again and drifted off into a day dream. He saw a kid on a bicycle with training wheels holding him up. Black hair stuck out from under his helmet and he was grinning up at Kevin as he pushed him along by the back of his seat. _Would his kid be a gearhead like him? Or more like his mom? _

A sharp rap on his door made him drop the wrench and say a nice swear word before he told whoever it was to come in while he crawled under his desk to retrieve it. Heels clicked on the floor and he hit his head on the bottom, trying to look and see who was wearing high-heels in his shop. He stifled a curse and rubbed his head. He ducked out from under the desk and looked up from his spot on the floor. A knock-out brunette smirked at him, red lips bow-shaped and full. "Hello," chimed.

He stood to his full height and found she was almost as tall as he was but she had sky-scrapers synched on her feet so that wasn't really an accomplishment. "Hi. What can I do for you?" He was still rubbing the place on his head. He gave her a surreptitious once over and saw that she was wearing a business suit with a pencil skirt. Her dark hair was straight as an arrow and she had curves enough to justify the ruby lipstick she was rocking. 'Babe' should have been written on her forehead.

She opened those pretty red lips and said, "I broke down a block away. Is there any way you could bring my car here?"

He stopped rubbing the knot that was developing nicely on the back of his head and dropped his hand. "Yeah. We can do that. We have a flatbed out back. Where is it?" She gave him directions to the street one block over from the front of the shop. He mentioned, "Let me go get another guy and we'll have it back in about ten minutes. There's a lounge out in the front of the shop where you can wait."

She nodded. "Thank you." She turned on her heel, hair flying in a fan behind her and marched with long strides from the room.

Kevin noticed her ass on the way out. And felt absolutely nothing.

Nada. Zilch.

That woman was a prime candidate for dating and subsequently mothering children and he had absolutely no desire whatsoever. Sure, he noticed that she was a bombshell. Who wouldn't? But the brain between his thighs wasn't interested and he couldn't figure out why.

_[Pinnacle]_

"Nazz, I think I'm broken," he said miserably.

She started laughing at the first words that came out of his mouth. "What?"

"I think my junk is broken. I think I didn't use it for so long it just kind of forgot what it was supposed to do."

At that, she started gasping for air because she was laughing too hard to breathe. "What the hell are you talking about?" she huffed.

He told her about the woman at the shop and his following reaction. Or lack thereof. "I'm broken," he groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes.

Her laughter faded into the occasional hiccup of mirth. "Dear lord, Kev. I haven't laughed that hard in years. What's got you so up in a bunch?"

"I keep thinking about having kids and shit and about whom would be a good mom and I come up blank. It's been two weeks and no one in this town who isn't married would be right for me. I can't get this image of a little boy on a bike out of my head. It's driving me crazy. And then, today, holy Jesus Christ, the mother of all hotties walks into my shop and I don't even feel my pulse go up. What the fuck?" he ranted.

Nazz shook her head and smiled. "She wasn't it. That's not how it works, Kev. You should know that. You can't just find a hot piece of ass and expect it to be perfect harmony. Dude, you know better. Besides, maybe the person you're looking for is already in front of you. You just haven't noticed."

"I get all that, Nazz. What I don't get is my _complete_ lack of interest on less than an intellectual level. I knew she was hot but… I dunno. Fuck…" His voice trailed off and he rocked back in the computer chair in his office. "I'm kinda worried, you know?"

He could almost hear her nod and then pause. "What would you have done if you were attracted to her?"

He shrugged at the question. "I dunno. I probably would have used some lame ass pick-up line and asked for her number if it worked."

"Kevin, you are so lame it hurts."

He chuckled. "I know. I'm losing my game in my old age."

"Dude, you're twenty-seven years old. You have ten more years before you're even remotely considered middle-aged."

He snorted. "You're right. I'm awesome. I just need to get back in my groove. Maybe I'll go over to the city and hit a club or something. I dunno."

"Kevin?"

"Yeah?"

"How long has it been since you went clubbing?"

He froze. He remembered the last time like it was yesterday. "Six years ago," he breathed. He had forgotten until Nazz mentioned it. "Nazz, I gotta go. I just remembered that I have to do payroll before tomorrow."

"Kevin? Are you al—" he heard her begin to ask before he hit the end button.

_[Karma]_

_He walked into the bar. It wasn't what he had been expecting. It was hard lines and chrome everywhere. It wasn't dirty and grungy and that made him feel slightly out of place with his hands stained black from the stubborn transmission that hadn't wanted to come out of a Nissan that afternoon. He stuffed them down into his pockets and went to the bar to order a drink. _

_The bartender was a busty female with hair the colour of peaches, orange and red and a little yellow all melded together. It was odd to eyes accustomed to Peach Creek girls with normal hair and normal… well, everything. Her round face lit up when she turned to him. He grinned back and ordered a scotch, leaving an extra tip because she was just so damn pretty. _

_He turned around to watch the people on the dance floor, spotting the ones who could actually dance immediately. They outnumbered the ones who awkwardly shuffled around. He found a few on the fringes that were all female packs, hovering together with their friends for fear of dancing with men or lacking men to dance with. A blonde caught him looking and smiled at him but he made no move to join her. He hadn't come to dance. He'd come to get shit-faced. _

_He turned back to the bar and rubbed his face. His friends had all left the day before for a trip that he couldn't afford. The old baseball team had gotten together and made plans and he had been ready to go but his car had broken down and he'd had to get it fixed, draining his funds for said trip. _

_Not really a great reason to be depressed. He saw them all mostly once a week if not more often. But he was throwing himself a pity party and nobody was going to rain on his parade. He threw back the scotch and waved at the pretty bartender for another. She refilled and hustled on to her next customer._

At least I'm not drinking tequila. I'd be on the floor in about ten minutes, _he thought to himself. He drank the next drink slowly, letting the liquid heat slide down, enjoying the burn. _

_A warm hand wrapped around his bicep, pulling his attention away from his glass. Expecting a female, he turned and found a tall man with eyes so dark they were black looking back at him with a suave smile. "Hello, darling. I just noticed you were by yourself. Do you want to join me and my friends?" He motioned to a table where two other men waved back, each smiling._

_He grimaced. "Sorry, man. I'm in this one for the long haul. Goal is to get drunk. I'm not really feeling very sociable."_

_The man with dark eyes just kept smiling. "Well, love, if you change your mind, you just come and find us, alright?"_

_Kevin just nodded. He didn't plan on going over to that table. Ever. He knew what the guy had been asking but had shrugged it off the best he could without being impolite. He turned back and waved to the bartender again. He held up a hand when she went for the scotch and told her he wanted vodka. She nodded and went to retrieve the bottle. Scotch had been a nice warm up, but vodka was guaranteed for a complete knockdown drag-out stupor. _

_Ten shots later, he ended up at the dark-eyed guy's table. Loneliness was a horrible companion when drunk and Kevin actually enjoyed talking to them. Until Dark Eyes kissed him._

_Kevin stood up in shock, looking aghast. The stranger had taken his hand and dragged him down into the booth again. "Calm down, doll. Just try it out. I'll stop if you want."_

_Kevin was too far gone to actually come up with a good argument as to why that was a very bad idea. "Okay…"_

_He'd ended up making out with the guy for an hour before he'd decided he was drunk enough to call a cab and go home._

_[Flutter]_

He groaned as he got up out of his chair and flopped down on his bed. He'd forgotten all about that particular memory. He'd never told anyone about it either. For some ungodly reason, the memory had made his cock ache.

He grunted and rolled over, glaring down at the offending appendage. "Oh sure, you get hard at the memory of a six year old make-out session but not a live babe in the present." Frustrated, he gave in and unsnapped his pants, pushing them down his legs. He kicked them off to puddle in the floor at the end of the bed, shortly followed by his boxers.

His rough hand swooped down over his stomach and wrapped around the base. His moan would have woken the dead. His neck arched back and his hat fell off. He pulled the hem of his shirt up and bit down on the material to stifle the noises he was bound to make. He hadn't done this in a long time. His hand hadn't forgotten though. Strong strokes from base to tip had him arching up off the bed. His mind went blank and all he focused on was the feeling below his waist.

Right before he came, a pair of crystal clear blue eyes floated into his memory. Biting back a shout, his back bowed and he jerked with the force.

After the spasms subsided, he flopped down, completely spent.

"The fuck was that?" he asked his ceiling quietly.

_[D: OMG, I'm so sorry it was this long. I had actually planned to write more, but Kevin decided to be a horn dog and demand an orgasm. So, I had to stop it here or it would have been like 10,000 words. I'm up to almost 4,000 with this part alone so I'll just make that part a new chapter. I hope you all like it and again, I am sorry it's so late. Please let me know what you think. :3]_


	4. A Fatherly Affection

_[D: So, due to my lack of enthusiasm for the last chapter and the surprise lemon at the end, I'll give you some good old-fashioned angst. And a baby. :3_

_This is a beast. I wrote part of it while I was supposed to be working. I just kind of looked at my boss every time he walked by and raised his eyebrow at my notebook. So, in short, I got paid to write you part of this fic today.]_

_Disclaimer: For real?_

_Chapter Four_

Kevin looked down at his phone and was surprised to see he had a text from Double Dork. He slid his finger over the screen and read: _Kevin, it would please me if you would consider coming to dinner. I would like to spend some time with a friend at present._

He chuckled at the perpetual politeness of his… friend. A slow smile spread across his mouth without his notice as he asked when he should come over and for directions. Saying no hadn't even occurred to him. He slid his phone back into his pocket and went back to tightening the lug nuts on the tire in front of him. He started whistling _Carry on my Wayward Son_ and moved to the next tire, thinking he should go home and shower because Double-D was still, no doubt, a stickler for cleanliness. He glanced at his arms that were smeared with grease up to the shoulder and shook his head in amusement. Double-D would faint if he showed up like that.

_[Spirited]_

His shoulders were heavy with tension from the engine they had lifted out of a Camaro right before he'd departed the shop as he drove to Edd's. He rolled them inside his jacket as he rolled down the last street, not far from where he lived. He watched the numbers as he passed them, waiting for the right one. Finally, he saw Edd's Volvo parked in the driveway and new it was the right one without looking at the mailbox. He parked on the street near the mailbox and carried his helmet up to the front steps with him. A cabinet with glass doors had been constructed next to the door where two pairs of shoes rested neatly. Taking the hint, he pulled off his boots and set them inside on the bottom shelf.

Feeling rather ridiculous standing on Double Dork's porch in his socks, he rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the raven answered the door with a grin. "Kevin! I'm glad you came!" He looked down and opened his mouth to say something but found Kevin's feet bare of shoes. He looked to the cabinet and he chuckled. "Thank you. Not many people notice that."

Kevin laughed. "I grew up with you, remember? I know how weird you were then. I can only imagine your quirks have gotten worse."

Edd stepped back so he could come in. "You're probably right," he sighed. His expression brightened. "I'm making dinner. Reade's in his playpen in the living room if you want to go in there. I should be finished in approximately fifteen minutes."

He turned and walked down the hall to the door past the stairs. Kevin took his hat off and rubbed his hand through his hair, noticing it needed cutting. "I was right. He's still weird," he muttered, padding into the living room. He sat his helmet down on the couch and took off his coat, returning it to the hallway where a hook was found. The television was on a history channel taking about wormholes in space. He looked around and found the pen in the corner. He padded over to it and looked down at the baby. He was awake and giggled when he saw Kevin. Kevin couldn't help the smile he returned. Being very careful, he scooped his hands under Reade and lifted him out of it. He pulled the little one to his chest and laid him against him. Reade wriggled for a moment and then relaxed against him.

Kevin took a deep breath and let it out. He'd passed his first milestone. He hadn't held a baby in more than three years. Since Nazz had given birth to Malachi and August. He supported Reade with his forearm under his butt and a hand on his back and moved around the room slowly to take in Edd's house. The labels were gone, but everything had a place. Things were turned 'just so' and pictures were perfectly straight. He smiled at the framed photo on the mantle. It was the same one he had on his phone.

Reade huffed against his chest, sounding as if he were going to start crying. He rocked on his feet, switching his weight, swaying from side to side. He felt glad that he had come.

_[Purgatory]_

Edd flicked on the radio, already tuned to a classical station. He finished draining the pasta and scooped portions out onto plates, covering it with a sauce his mother had taught him how to make years before. He smiled at the memory of sauce all over the counters and his crying because he'd spilled it. His mother had just told him that it was alright and that they would try again. Feeling nostalgic, he took the plates to sit them on the dining room table. He set their places with silverware and went in search of his guest. He rounded the corner to the living room and stopped.

Kevin was swaying in the middle of the room holding Reade, humming softly.

He leaned against the doorframe and just watched, completely stunned at the gentleness of the man that had once tormented him and his friends. He was rubbing circles on Reade's back and had his eyes closed, completely lost to everything but the small bundle in his arms. Edd sighed softly and smiled. Who would have thought Kevin was the type to hum to babies when no one was looking? He rubbed his chest when he felt his heart give a hard beat and stood up straight, clearing his throat.

The red-head turned and looked at him. "He's asleep," he said quietly.

Edd's hand moved to his mouth at the tender look on Kevin's face. It was so out of place on top of the big body that was constantly doing physical labour. But Kevin looked so at peace that he almost didn't want to move. He knew that peace. It was a protector's peace. The kind of peace only a parent could have.

Edd was confused by that look. Kevin didn't have children, but he knew what it was to care for someone deeply enough to be at rest when they were asleep against his heart. Edd looked at Reade and realised that Kevin loved his son just as much as he did. His chest constricted painfully. He rubbed at his sternum. Kevin's brows came down over his eyes. "You alright, Edd?"

He nodded, pushing away the awkward pain. "I just came to tell you that our meal is ready." Kev looked down at Reade and open regret was on his face at the thought of putting him down. "You can put him in the rocker in the dining room, if you would like. I can't leave him alone anyway."

Kevin looked relieved and followed Edd. The genius mulled over the emotion Kevin had just shown. The boy he had grown up with never would have shown such things to anyone. _Maybe he had been completely unaware of his actions. Some things are more instinct than actual higher brain function._ He watched as Kevin squatted and lowered Reade into the rocker slowly, afraid of waking him. The boy didn't even stir. He stood to his full height and continued to watch Reade. "Edd?"

The raven looked at him and waited for him to continue.

"You've got a good kid. You're really lucky, you know?" he admitted quietly, almost to himself.

Edd wrapped his fingers around Kevin's arm. The red-head finally turned to look at him. His green eyes were full of a pain that didn't have a name. "Kevin? What is the matter?"

He shook himself from whatever it was and apologized. His smile was quick to return, lighting up his whole face. "Sorry, Dork. Let's eat."

Perturbed, Edd sat down with Kevin and ate food that was delicious but held no taste for him because of what had just happened. Kevin was eating with gusto, as if nothing at all out of place had happened. That confused Edd further. What had caused Kevin to look like that while he held Reade?

_[Reverence]_

Kevin ate everything on his plate out of politeness. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew it had tasted good, but he couldn't find the enthusiasm to enjoy it. He was still trying to find the answer to what he had felt in that living room with Reade asleep against him. He had been truly… tranquil. He glanced over at the infant, still asleep in his rocker. His heart squeezed again and his hand twitched. Irritated, he shook it out.

"Kevin?" He looked over at Edd and raised a brow. "Are you alright?" Edd glanced down to where he was rubbing his palm with his other thumb.

The genius seemed to be genuinely concerned. He shrugged. "Honestly, Double-D, I don't really know."

Dark brows came down over cerulean eyes in concern. "What do you mean?"

He took his hat off and ran a hand over his hair, "Man, I really don't know. I've had this… itch… I guess. I don't know what it is that's causing it."

Double-D mulled over this for a long moment. "Then you just have to wait for an answer. I realise that this statement is detrimental to the situation, but maybe you're not really meant to know quite yet."

Kevin grimaced. "You were always smarter than me." A dull ache seeped behind his eyes. He pressed the heels of his hands into the sockets and rubbed, trying to ease the pain. He sighed at the futile effort and glanced over at Edd. "I know what it is I want. I just don't have a feasible way of getting there."

"What would that be?" Edd asked, curious.

Kevin chuckled at the fact that he was talking to _Double Dork_ of all people about this. He shook his head and answered ruefully, "I want kids. Like seven. But I don't want to be around any of the women in Peach Creek except Nazz and that's only because she's the greatest friend I could ever ask for. No one's ever really caught my attention." He looked grim as he said, "Hell, I haven't even dated anyone since we graduated."

Edd looked stunned at the revelation. _So that's why he looked at Reade that way. He wants children of his own but he can't have them. Not right now, at any rate._ "You can spend time with Reade and I any time you want to, Kevin. He seems to enjoy your company. And I know I do. You have changed a great deal since we were children, even since high school."

His voice was warm as it reached Kevin, who had descended into a sombre state of mind. A little slice of yearning slipped through the cracks in his walls and wormed its way into his heart. "Yeah?" he said, looking at Edd.

A gap-toothed smile beamed back at him. "Yes."

Blood rushed to the red-head's face in pleasure. "Thanks, Edd. I… Yeah, thanks."

Edd was touched that it meant that much to Kevin. Different people had different reactions to Reade. Kevin and his mother's had been by far the most positive. "Kevin… I would like for you to be happier. If I can help, then I will. Reade's time is not really a commodity right now because he loves anyone and everyone. And, if I'm being honest, it gets tiring, taking care of him every minute of the day and night. Having you here to play with him for an hour would give me time for, and I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, a nap."

Kevin snickered. "The great genius, Double-D, take a nap?"

Edd leaned back in his chair and studied his son wistfully. "You wouldn't believe how much you want one until you can't have them anymore."

Kevin nodded. "I get it. I'll come whenever you want. Even if you just want to go run errands or something. It's fine with me. I can just tell the guys I'm going somewhere to get parts or something. I am the boss after all."

Edd laughed. "I was wrong. You haven't changed at all. You're still causing trouble."

Kevin shrugged with a grin. "Only when they irritate me. I think they'll understand about this one though. They're a pretty great bunch of guys to be around," he said affectionately.

"I am glad of that."

Kevin studied Edd as he looked at his son. A small smile pulled at his mouth, probably without his realising it. Sooty lashes were semi-lowered over his eyes. The strong chin his face had promised as a teenager had finally lost its baby fat and a dark shadow graced the prominent curve. Straight hair stood up in odd directions, like he hadn't even bothered to brush it that day, the white streak just added to the image. Kevin's lower stomach stirred and he looked away.

"I had better head home. I've got some paperwork to do," he said to escape his own awkwardness.

Edd looked over, the small smile still there. "It is getting late. I'm glad you came."

Kevin chuckled. "Yeah. Me too." He rose and arched his back to stretch. His shoulders protested movement. He rubbed it and grimaced. "Man, I forgot about that," he muttered.

"Forgot about what?" Double-D asked.

"We were lifting an engine block out of a Camaro right before I left and I lifted faster than the other two guys and my shoulders strained. I forgot about it until I moved," he groaned.

Edd stood. "Turn around," he ordered.

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"Just turn around, Kevin."

Kevin sighed and turned around. Edd touched his shoulders and he jumped, not expecting the contact. He relaxed when the brunette started kneading the muscles. His head fell forward with an audible sigh of relief as strong fingers worked away the knots.

_Oh, that is nice…_

Edd thumbs pressed up his neck and he melted under the touch, only his locked knees keeping him on his feet.

"Better?" he asked from behind the red-head. A limp nod was his only answer. He chuckled and continued to massage shoulders that were quite a bit larger than his own. His fingers worked their way down Kevin's spine until they pressed to the small of his back. The larger man grunted and leaned away from the contact. He stopped immediately. "I'm sorry. Did I press to hard?" he asked, worried he had hurt him.

Kevin turned, looking slightly dazed. He shook his head. "No. I… uh… I have a scar there. It gets kind of… tetchy sometimes… Where did you learn to do that, Double-D?" His voice held more than a little awe.

Edd breathed a laugh. "I was in a relationship. She enjoyed them, so I researched muscle groups and proper ways to disperse tension." He shrugged as if it was no big thing. "My research seems to have paid off, no?"

Kevin nodded. "I'd say so. Thank you." His ears were pink and Edd thought it was odd to be embarrassed about having muscle pain relieved.

"You are quite welcome, Kevin."

The walked down the hall after Kevin had knelt down to touch Reade's soft hair one last time. He got his helmet and slid his coat on over his t-shirt. He stepped onto the porch and turned to look at Double-D as he put his boots back on. "Text me whenever you want a minute to yourself. And don't think twice about it. No matter when. Yeah?"

Edd's cheeks pinked in the dusky light, but he said, "I will, Kevin. Thank you."

Kev pulled his hat off and shoved it in his pocket, pulling his helmet on. "See you, Edd," he said before he flipped the visor down and walked to his bike. Edd watched as he kick-started it and drove off with a rumble.

He couldn't quite comprehend the paradox Kevin had become.

_[Impossibility]_

Three months of scheduled meetings and random fly-bys later, Kevin got a phone call. He was working on a plan for a complete over-haul on a GTO for a friend of his when his phone vibrated on his desk. He looked at the screen and smiled. "Hey, Edd," he answered. He put the phone in between his shoulder and ear as he finished the line he was drafting. "What's up?"

"Greetings, Kevin. Would it be possible for you to come by this evening? I have something I wish to ask you." He sounded kind of nervous to Kev.

"Absolutely. I'll come over after I shower. Alright?"

"That is acceptable. I will see you then."

"See you," Kevin said as he hung up. What could Double-D possibly want to ask him that required his presence?

_[Fixation]_

"You're going to New York?" Kevin asked in mild disbelief.

Double-D nodded. "Yes. That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He laid his fork beside his plate. "I would like to ask if you would watch Reade while I'm gone."

Kevin's brows came together over his nose. "Why me?"

Edd folded and unfolded his napkin. "My mother has her own experiments that are demanding most of her time." He looked up to meet green eyes that he had grown fond of. "He adores you. You know that. And I trust you. I wouldn't ask if I didn't."

Kevin pushed peas around his plate and thought it over. He'd been spending a lot of time here anyway. What was a little more? "I'll have to stay here. I really don't have any place to put him at my place."

Edd nodded. "I anticipated that. I have a spare room that is yours if you say yes. It's only three days."

"What are you going for?" Kevin asked out of nosiness.

"My paper on a subject of Chemical Engineering is up for discussion and I have been asked to present it to the convention." A flush dusted his cheeks in his embarrassment at the attention.

"That's a pretty big deal. When do you leave?"

"It begins in a week. I am not required to be there until the day after that. I will leave the day it begins so I can at least enjoy a little of the convention." His expression was a little melancholy.

Kevin got an idea. "Edd, how long is the whole convention?"

"It's a week long in its entirety. I am not required to stay though." He leaned a cheek on his fist and studied Kevin. "Why?"

Kevin pointed at him with his fork. "You should go for the whole week. You need some time for yourself and I really don't mind. I can do all of my paperwork and orders here. If they need me at the shop, I can be there in ten minutes. I've got some drafting to do anyway. It will give me some down time to actually get it done." He waved the utensil at Edd. "You haven't been to a nerd-con for the better part of a year because of Reade. Go and enjoy yourself."

His mouth hung open slightly at his friend. "Why would you do that?"

Kevin shrugged and sat back in his chair. "You're my friend," he said, as if that explained his sudden urge to give.

"You are most gracious," Edd observed.

"Nah, graciousness is reserved for angels and monks. I'm just doing something for a friend," he said nonchalantly.

"Thank you, Kevin," Edd said. He pressed his thumbs together and chewed his lip. "It's odd thinking I'm going to have all of that free time…" he muttered.

Kevin chuckled. "Nope. You'll be calling me every fifteen minutes to check on the kid."

A laugh tumbled out of Edd's mouth. "I suppose you're right. Now that I think about it, I haven't been away from him for more than a few hours since I saw him for the first time in the nursery."

"That's a long time to be with someone without a break, dude." Kevin looked over at Reade who had woken up a few moments before. "Even if he is an adorable ball of cute." His eyes were serious when he turned back to Edd. "You need to rest, dude. I can handle babysitting for a week. Take a day off, as it were. Dad's need vacations too. Go to your summit and be a dork. Enjoy what you do for a living."

Edd looked down and fought back the lump in his throat. Kevin was giving him the chance to enjoy himself with no strings attached. He was willing to take care of a child that wasn't his own so he could enjoy his life's passion. "You're a very good friend, Kevin."

"You're welcome, Edd," he said quietly.

Reade began to whimper. Edd watched as Kevin got up and picked him up before he could even move to vacate his chair. He held Reade above him under his little arms and started making faces at him. Edd chuckled when Reade shrieked in glee. "You're very good with children, Kevin."

He glanced over and spoke as he looked back to Reade, continuing to make faces. "Nazz's kids were always a handful for her. I helped her as much as I could when she had them. He's only one, so it's not really a big deal." He brought Reade to rest in the crook of his arm and tickled his tummy. Giggling made Edd's heart absolutely melt.

"He laughs more when you're around, you know," he admitted.

Kevin stopped and looked at Edd. "Edd, he laughs no matter what." Reade grabbed his finger and brought it to his mouth. He looked down. "He's a happy baby."

"I know. But he really does laugh more when you're around. Every time you pick him up, he either smiles or goes to sleep." He sighed. "Sometimes, I can't get him to stop crying and he finally goes to sleep from being exhausted." He looked pained.

Kevin sighed and sat down, sitting Reade on his knee and started bouncing him. "For one, I've done this before. I helped Nazz for months when she first had Malachi and August because Eddy had to work more than I did." He held up two fingers. "And second, I'm not around him 24/7. If I was, I'm pretty sure there would be moments when I wouldn't be able to calm him down. Look, Double-D, you're doing a fine job. Alright? He's happy and healthy. That's all that really matters when you get down to it."

Edd pressed his hands to his face, weary and affected. "I know you're right, but it just… I feel terrible when I can't figure out what is wrong with him. I feel like a horrible father to him."

"Pretty sure every parent feels that way when they're kid is actually just fine. It's the ones that don't feel horrible that you have to be worried about." He reached out and patted Double-D's shoulder. "You're doing fine, man."

Edd separated his fingers and looked at him from between them. "Is it sad that I think you are the best friend I've ever had?"

Kev's face pinked. "Ten years ago, I would have said yes. But I've changed and so have you. We're not kids anymore." He shrugged. "If it counts for anything, I would say the same about you."

Edd's hands dropped away from his face. "You would?" he asked in surprise.

Kevin nodded. "I would. I mean, I have great friends from high school and Nazz, but, you and me, we just sit here and talk and we're fine with that. You talk about stuff that's way over my head, but I don't really mind because you explain it so I _can_ understand it. And I talk about my projects and stuff at the shop and you help me out and give me your input and we _talk_. I don't really have anyone else that I can just sit around and contemplate the purpose of string with. I like coming over here, not just because of Reade but because I like hanging out with you."

Double-D looked at his hands. "I enjoy those things too… I'm glad I decided to stay in Peach Creek."

"So am I, Dork," Kevin murmured.

_[Venture]_

"Come on, Dork. You're going to miss your flight," Kevin sighed, exasperated with the genius currently flailing and babbling about in the living room, explaining the same things he had already explained a hundred times since Kevin's arrival two hours ago. The blue polo he was wearing was crookedly pulled on, twisted where it was tucked into his pants. Kevin went to fix it for him without really thinking about it, not really considering where his fingers were going.

"I left a list of daytime activities on the refrigerator. His formula –"

"Eddward. Stop," Kevin demanded.

The use of his birth name quieted the genius more than the directive had. He closed his mouth and looked at Kevin. "I'm sorry."

Kevin waved a hand, standing next to Reade's rocker. "It's fine, but your cab has been waiting for ten minutes. Go. You can call me when you get to New York." He picked Reade up and then grabbed the handle of Edd's suitcase, pulling it behind him. He padded outside in house-shoes he had bought especially for Edd's house to the cab waiting by the curb. The cabbie popped the trunk and took the bag, setting it inside. "Thanks, man." He turned back to Edd. "Take a deep breath, hug Reade and get in the car, Double-D. It's going to be fine."

Edd looked at the man with green eyes and did as he suggested, breathing deeply through his nose and took his son from him. He cuddled the infant close and took in the smell of talcum powder and baby, relaxing. He opened his eyes to find Kevin smiling at him. He kissed Reade's forehead and handed him back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go on. Enjoy yourself, Dork."

Edd grinned. "I'll see you Saturday!" He waved, his excitement returning as he got into the car. The cabbie looked amused as he closed his door and pulled away. Edd looked back and Kevin made Reade wave his fist goodbye.

_[Owe]_

"First time away from the kid?" the cabbie asked.

Edd chuckled. "Am I that transparent?"

The cabbie shook his head. "No, but my wife looked like you just did the first time she left to go back to work." He laughed. "Your husband did a better job at getting you out of the house than I did."

Edd's face coloured scarlet. "H-he's not my husband!" he cried.

"I apologise. You two were so friendly… I assumed."

Still red, Edd waved away the apology. "He's a very old friend whom is watching my son so I can go to a Chemical Engineering Summit in New York."

"Sounds like a good friend to me," the cabbie commented.

A smile snuck its way onto his face. "The very best." He looked out the window and watched Peach Creek roll by.

_[Eclipse]_

Kevin shuffled through the drafts to find the one with the right colour-scheme in the corner. He exclaimed in triumph when he found it. Reade jumped in his rocker and whimpered. The red-head picked him up and cooed to him. "I'm sorry, little man. I didn't mean to scare you." He started rocking back and forth to soothe the boy.

_Carry on My Wayward Son_ started playing from his pocket. He knew who it was even before he pulled it out of his pocket. "Hey, Double-D."

"Greetings, Kevin." The phone line crackled slightly with static as if he were in a building.

"How's New York?" He hadn't ever been himself, but some of his friends had and he was anxious to hear Edd's assessment of the Big Apple.

"The airport was akin to an insane asylum. Getting a cab was nearly impossible," he groused. "But I have reached my hotel room, which is quite nice. The summit is downstairs so I don't have to brave the sidewalk again. I just wanted to check in on you two."

Kevin looked down. Big blue eyes looked back at him. "We just avoided a meltdown. He's fine though. I spoke too suddenly and it scared him. He ate about an hour ago."

He heard a sigh of relief on the other end. "I don't doubt your capabilities, Kevin. It's just that I—"

Kevin cut him off. "Edd, it's fine. I understand. I'd be the same way. Chill." He bounced Reade further up onto his chest. "You wanna talk to him?" he asked.

There was a pause and a groan. "I love beds… Yes, I do."

Kevin chuckled and switched the phone over to speaker. "Go ahead."

He spoke slowly. "Reade, I love you."

The boy looked around, confused by the voice coming from nowhere. Kevin chuckled. "He's looking for you."

"How cute… Reade, I miss you." Emotion in Edd's voice had Kevin's eyes pricking.

Reade had located the phone as the source of the voice and was staring at it. He opened his mouth. "Da…ddy?"

Kevin stared at him as if he had just spoken gospel. He brought the phone closer to his face. "Please tell me you heard that," he breathed.

"K-Kevin… Did he just say that?"

"Yeah… He did. He just said his first real word." Kevin looked in awe at the boy.

He heard tears in Edd's voice when he said, "Oh Kevin, this is wonderful! I wish I had been there though…"

Kevin spoke before he thought. "You are here." He cursed a blue streak in his head and looked at the ceiling.

A long pause before, "I suppose you are right in a way. Auditory memory is one of the strongest kinds. I find myself thanking you, again."

"Don't mention it," he said, glad Edd hadn't picked up on the more emotional meaning behind the red-head's words.

_[I'm going to stop there. This chapter has become a three part beast. The next chapter will actually be the third instalment of this one chapter. My god. I did not plan on writing this much. *dies* This is five-thousand words. Holy Christ. The last one was four and a half._

_I hope you enjoyed this monstrosity. I will try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Please leave me love or hate. Either way, I will love you. Goodnight.]_


	5. Long Distance and Lonely Nights

_[D: This is the chapter that I never meant to write, but after a long bout of consideration, I decided that it needed to be here. _

_Just a quick note, Reade is nine months old. This is four months after Edd returned to Peach Creek. Just to clarify. Also, I did some research and babies are very uncomfortable with anyone except their parent in this time frame. I will let you draw your own conclusion from that. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own the thing._

_Chapter Five_

The bed was soft and swallowed him up in its embrace. Warm blankets kept him where he was when the alarm went off. After long moments of enjoying lazing about, he rolled over and hit the button. He looked at the ceiling.

And didn't know where he was.

He sat up, terrified for a moment, and then looked around. His memory came flooding back. He was in New York. Not Peach Creek. He sighed and flopped back, relieved.

The quiet of the room was what unsettled him. He had become accustomed to Reade's little noises in the night. He had woken up repeatedly, expecting whimpering or crying. He missed it now that it was gone.

He rolled over and got his phone. The first name on the list was the first one he called.

"'Lo?" a deep, gruff voice answered.

"Good morning, Kevin."

He heard a grunt and assumed Kevin was sitting up. "Hey, Dork."

Edd smiled as he stared out into the room. "How was your first night?"

A soft pop and a grunt came over the line. "He only woke up twice. Hungry and needed a change. Nothing major."

"That's normal. I was more concerned about you. How are you holding up?" he asked softly.

The line was quiet for a long minute. "I… uh… I'm alright. It's weird sleeping in a bed that's not my own." He sighed. "How are you?"

Edd chuckled at himself. "I just woke up, not knowing where I was and panicked. I kept waking up, expecting to hear him."

Kevin laughed. "I can imagine. He's a mover. Kept hearing him rolling around."

"Yes, he's never still for very long." Edd sat up and moved to get out of bed. "I'm glad he wasn't too much trouble last night. He can be a handful sometimes."

"I can imagine. Hang on just a second." Edd heard the phone clatter onto something hard and a "Sorry" from what sounded like a great distance. Taking the spare moment, he pulled a sweater over his night shirt, chilled by the hotel room. Clinking and pouring liquid came over the line and Edd knew Kevin was getting something to drink.

When Kevin picked the phone back up, Edd asked him about what he had planned for the day and they spoke about the convention and Kevin's plans for the car he was working on. Kevin told him that Reade had just woken up and that he had to go. Edd made sure to tell him to give Reade a kiss for him.

_[Resilience]_

Edd straightened his tie for the eighth time in ten minutes. His palms were damp as he waited for the previous speaker to vacate the podium. He was better at speaking than he had been in high school, but he still had nervous moments before each speech.

When he was finally in front of the fifty people in the seminar, his face was pink with his nervousness. He touched his tie but fought the urge to straighten it again. He looked down to his notes and then back up to the crowd. He scanned the crowd. He was looking for someone but he didn't know who. Then it hit him.

He was looking for Kevin.

His heart squeezed in his chest and it was hard to breathe. Closing his eyes, he took a breath and started speaking, pretending that he was speaking to his red-headed best friend instead of a room of fifty people.

He had never spoken better.

_[Reviving]_

Edd counted the loops on the curtains for the ninth time as he lie on his side. He was trying to avoid thinking about his speech earlier that day. More specifically, he was trying to avoid thinking about whom he had been thinking about during his speech. And failing miserably.

When he had been standing on the stage, the image of Kevin sitting at his dining room table, holding Reade and listening so intently had come to him, pushing away everyone else's faces. He had seen only Kevin, bouncing Reade on his knee and soaking up everything Edd was telling him. He knew exactly how Kevin looked when he was gaining new knowledge. His light eyes would glimmer as if processing it all. His brows would furrow slightly and he would lean forward, without perceiving it.

Edd groaned and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling instead. Mission: complete failure. He finally admitted it to himself; he didn't only miss Reade. He missed Kevin too. Quite a lot, in fact. He hadn't been attached to anyone since his last relationship and Kevin was quickly becoming a very important person in the grand scheme of Edd's life. He ran a hand through his hair and grabbed a hank, pulling lightly. His hair was getting long again. He thought of Kevin's hair, shaggier than he had seen it since early childhood.

Memories of earlier life swept through him, bringing a smile to his lips and at moments, tears to his eyes. They of the cul-de-sac had been through much together. They had become teens and then adults together, sharing some of their fondest memories. He missed the way things once were, but he couldn't imagine giving up his present life for days gone by.

Kevin's face turned up in his remembrances, his strong face losing what little baby fat it had during high school. Edd had always thought him handsome in a rugged way. He had accepted his bisexual tendencies in high school so seeing Kevin as attractive didn't scare him. When he had rolled out from under the car that first time, so many months ago, Edd's heart had beaten harder. His breath had stopped. He had always been a bit OCD, but the sight of Kevin covered in grease to his elbows with a smudge on his cheekbone, sprawled out on the roll-cart had accelerated his heartbeat. He knew it was illogical to think of Kevin that way because of Kevin's own orientation, but he could not help the way his body had reacted.

Was still reacting by the growing discomfort below his waistband.

Edd stared at the ceiling and began to recite the periodic table in his head. He reached Lutetium before he realised it wasn't going to work. He glared at the apex of his thighs and sighed. He felt terrible for thinking of his closest friend as he unbuttoned his pants and gave in to one of the more natural actions of the human body.

_[Bedlam]_

Kevin's phone didn't ring that night. Edd hadn't called since that morning. He assumed that the dork was enjoying the seminar or had fainted and been taken to the hospital. He was hoping for the former.

Reade was asleep in his pen in the living room so Kevin could actually get some work done. He set pen to paper and whipped out a new basic sketch for a side project he was working on. The lines were sure and the colours chosen carefully.

This was Kevin's element. He engrossed himself in the perfectionism that came with design. No line or curve could be out of place or the whole manifest would seem off. This was his baby. He had been toying with the idea on and off for over a year. It was time for him to get a car. He had had enough days of getting soaked to the bone when a thunderstorm hit. But he wasn't going to let it look like just a car.

Kevin's heritage had always been very important to him, coming from an Irish home. The Old Religion was still celebrated by his mother. He had fallen out of practice, but the faith had never left. The knots of the cross that he laid out were meticulous and perfect. He took the long hours in stride, laying the lines with faith in his own hands.

His phone rang just as he laid down his pen. Glancing at the clock, he realised it was almost one. Wondering what Edd was doing up so late, he was picked up, concern in his voice, "What's wrong?"

Edd's voice was very quiet. "Kevin… I am inebriated and I needed someone to talk to."

The red-head sighed in relief. Then, a smile wandered onto his face. "Drunk, huh? Taking advantage of the alone time, are we, Double-D?"

"Shuddup," came the reply. "I was lonely," he admitted, still quiet.

Kevin's face softened. "I'm sorry, Edd. You know alcohol is a depressant though, right?"

He heard Edd snort. "I remembered that after I was already drunk."

Kev chuckled. "You're adorable." Realising what he had just said, he smacked himself on the forehead.

Edd was silent for a long time. "Will you talk to me? I can't fall asleep. It's too quiet here."

Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, not quite comfortable. He had never been asked to be someone's security blanket before. The affirmative left his mouth before he could stop it though. He talked about the progress he made on the design for the GTO and then started explaining what he wanted to do about a new car and then the artwork he wanted to put on it. When he paused for a moment, he only heard soft breathing. "Edd?" he said softly. Silence greeted him and he smiled. Dork had fallen asleep. "Goodnight, Dork. I hope you sleep well." With a rueful look, he ended the call and went to get Reade to put him to bed.

_[Fahrenheit]_

Blood rushed through his ears, pumping heavily in his temples making the light coming through the windows seem like lances piercing his retinas. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the comforter up over his face, hiding from the cheery sunlight. _What happened to me? Why do I feel so ill?_

He thought back to the things he had ingested the day before, thinking it might have been food poisoning. Then he remembered that he had begun drinking after his little foray with himself. He blushed at the memory, though no one else knew what he had done. Then a vague memory of Kevin's voice through his drunken fog seeped into his mind. _What have I done?_

He scrambled for the table beside the bed but his phone wasn't there. Panicking, he tore the covers off of the bed and finally found it under his pillow. Pushing the pounding in his temples away, he looked through the call history and found that he had called Kevin in the wee hours of the morning. The call had lasted an hour. He didn't remember a single bit of what had been said.

He rubbed a hand over his face and hit send to call Kevin. The red-head answered after three rings. "'Lo?"

"Kevin, I'm so sorry for whatever I did last night. I cannot recall our conversation—"

"Dude, slow down! It's fine. You just called to talk to me because…" Kevin didn't finish his sentence and Edd grew worried.

"Kevin why did I call you? What did I say?" Edd looked down and realised he was naked. Startled by his unusual lack of decorum, he went to pull pants out of his suitcase. He slipped them over bare legs when Kevin finally answered.

"You called me because you were lonely and wanted me to talk to you because it's too quiet there," he said gently.

Edd's breath hitched. He had done exactly what he had wanted to do the first night he had been in New York. It had taken a bit of liquor to get him to do it though. "I'm sorry I bothered you Kevin. I can't believe what I was thinking."

"Don't be sorry. It's alright. I didn't mind." Kevin sighed. "I'm glad you called. I miss talking to you," he said, voice stronger than Edd's had been.

His face flushed and he looked at his feet, hand on his hip, trying to find a solid place to stand on a plane that Kevin kept knocking sideways. "I miss speaking with you, as well, Kevin. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend."

The red-head chuckled. "I'm glad I could help, Double-D. Look, I have to go to the shop today. Is it alright if I take your car? I don't really think the bike would be good for Reade."

Edd laughed. "Oh my, yes. Please do."

"Thanks." He paused. "Are you okay, Edd?" His tone was completely different than it had been only moments before.

His chest constricted with the want to discuss what he was feeling, but he knew that it would be best to do that in person. "I am quite alright, Kevin. I do have a headache from a hangover, it would seem. But I know how to correct this situation." Saying that, he went to the bathroom and collected a glass of water and aspirin.

"I've got to head out. The guys need me at the shop today. I'll call when I get in tonight. Yeah?"

"That sounds pleasant, Kevin. I will talk to you then. Enjoy your day."

"You too, Dork."

Edd stared at his phone when the red-head hung up. What was he getting himself into? Why was he getting in so deep with someone who wasn't interested in the same sex? He sighed and threw the phone onto the bed, covers thrown askew. He glanced at them and decided to let the maid do her job today. He couldn't bring himself to care about the state of his room when everything in his mind was thrown out into the wind.

_[D: It's short, for me, anyway. But I hope you liked it. I've been through a bit of emotional trauma in the past few days and I really just wrote this so I wouldn't disappoint you guys too. I'm sorry it's so late. Have a wonderful day. And Happy Mother's Day to all of my matronly readers.]_


	6. Rib-spreaders

_[D: I am now entering back into my original intended storyline. This was the next chapter on my outline but I can't say I regret writing two extra chapters. I should have been in bed when I wrote this.]_

_Disclaimer: I will go down with this ship~~~_

_Chapter Six_

Edd had decided at two that morning that he couldn't do it for another day, no matter how much fun he was having at the convention. He couldn't be away from them for a second longer than it took him to fly back to Peach Creek. He gathered all of his things and caught a cab back to the airport which was relatively less crowded in the wee hours of the morning. The flight was four hours of him twiddling his thumbs and reading some journals a few colleagues had sent him, but he just couldn't focus.

All he could think of was the tall red-head and his son.

The ride home was an hour and a half of watching the sun rise and streets go by at what seemed a snail's pace. The raven was disinclined to start a conversation with his cabby so he just leaned his head back and pretended to sleep. For his lack of rest, he was wired.

When they finally pulled up in front of his small home, motorcycle and SUV parked beside each other like it had always been that way, he breathed a sigh of relief. He gave the cabby his money and thanked the older man who just nodded with a knowing smile.

Suitcase trailing beside him, he made his way up the walk and stopped to strip off his shoes. He opened the door quietly, sure that Kevin and Reade were both still asleep. Kevin had told him that he was staying away from the shop for the rest of the week because he wasn't needed. Edd knew he liked to sleep in on his days off when Reade let him. So the sound of the television in the living room was a surprise when he closed the door behind him. He padded to the doorway and stopped.

Kevin was asleep on the couch, face turned away from the TV. Reade was curled up on his chest, fast asleep. Kevin had an arm curled protectively around him and was snoring softly.

Edd's knees went weak and he almost dropped to the floor. After his recent discovery of his affection for the red-head, this was an absolute torrent of emotion. It was almost too much. He wrapped his arms around himself and felt tears fall because of the heartbreak. He wasn't supposed to want this. He wasn't supposed to _need_ Kevin like this.

The red-head was his best friend. He was the only person Edd could sit down and talk out all of the problems he was having with his work. He liked listening to Kevin's stories and all of his plans. He wanted to be a part of those plans and it killed him. The fear absolutely killed him.

He didn't want to lose Kevin.

_[Inadvertent]_

Reade moved on his chest and he stirred from a dream of his childhood. He rubbed his eyes, only moving slightly, trying to avoid waking Reade just yet. Something was tickling at his conscious. Something wasn't quite right. He yawned and froze.

He smelled pancakes.

He rose, carefully holding the babe to him and laid him down in his pen. He moved silently for a man of his size. He skulked to the doorway of the kitchen against the hallway wall.

He wasn't prepared to see Double-D standing at the stove making pancakes. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Double-D, what the hell are you doing home?"

Edd jumped at the sound of his voice. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "I couldn't sleep in New York. So I came home. And when I got here, it wasn't time for sleep any longer."

That gap-toothed smile did weird things to his stomach. He strode over to Edd and pulled him into a hug. "Missed you, Dweeb." His cheeks were on fire; he could feel it. But he didn't much care.

Slowly, pale arms came around him and the raven relaxed. "I m-missed you as well, Kevin."

The gearhead stepped back and rubbed his neck, realising he had misplaced his hat. "Why didn't you call and tell me you were coming home? I could have come to pick you up."

Edd turned back to his pancakes and flipped them. "There was no reason to wake you so early when there are citizens that have employment in the transportation economy. They need my patronage. It would have just been inconvenient to you."

Kevin sat at the counter and watched Double-D make him breakfast. "I'm glad you're home."

Edd chuckled. "I would assume so. You can return to your life now."

Kevin's face bloomed pink again. "N-no, that's not what I mean. I really don't mind watching Reade. He's a really great baby. I meant that, even though I sent you for the full week, I missed having you around. It was weird talking to you over the phone. I didn't really like it." He took a deep breath. "I missed you, Dork, not my free-time."

Edd turned and looked at him with unfathomable blue eyes. Light pink feathered over his cheekbones, but he said, "I can't imagine why, Kevin. I missed being home with you though." Embarrassed, he turned back to the pancakes and put them on plates.

They ate in a slightly awkward silence. After, Edd woke Reade to feed and change him. Kevin collected his things and headed back to his apartment after talking at length about everything Reade had done that week. The two men avoided talking about themselves but the baby was a safe topic.

As Kevin drove back, he couldn't keep the look Double-D had given him out of his head. He had missed the dork, but he couldn't comprehend why Edd didn't believe him.

He walked into his long neglected apartment and dropped his duffle on the floor in the mudroom. He stood with hands on hips and looked around his home of three years. And suddenly it didn't feel quite like home.

Home was pancakes and baby noises during the night and phone calls when a certain dork couldn't sleep.

He had been gone for less than an hour and already he felt lonely.

_[D: Short as fuck, but I don't even care. I love you guys. A lot.]_


	7. Dawning of a New Age

_[D: I've deviated from my original plan long enough. *shakes fist at Edd* But I really do love this story and all of my followers. I hope you like this as much as I do. _

_It has been brought to my attention that I have neglected Eddy and Ed. Honestly, in my brain, they've been around the whole time and have just been calling Edd or vice versa. Sorry about that.]_

_Disclaimer: *sobs* Don't make me say it._

_Chapter Seven_

Kevin was up to his shoulders in frustration, trying to wrestle the old manifold from a Taurus that had seen better days. He had run out of curse words and was working in silent rage. The bolts were rusted from lack of care and now he was having a bitch of a time getting the damn thing out.

Arms came around his waist and soft curves pressed against his back. He froze. It had to be Lee Kanker. She'd been getting touchier lately. He pried the small hands from around his waist. "Look, Lee, I told you I'm not interested," he said as he turned around.

"That would matter if I were Lee Kanker, Kevin." Nazz grinned up at him.

He blushed and grinned. "Sorry, Nazz." He pulled her into a hug. "She's been pestering my guys even more lately. What are you doing here? Where are the monsters?"

She stepped back and looked up at him with hands on her hips. "They're at home with Eddy. To be honest, I came here to make sure you were still alive. I haven't seen or heard from you in over a week. What did you do, forget we've been friends since birth?" She looked majorly peeved.

Kevin scratched his neck. "I'm sorry, Nazz. I was at Edd's looking after the kid. He went to New York for a seminar. He only got back yesterday." He blushed at the memory of their conversation in the kitchen.

Nazz's anger drained away. "Oh." She punched him lightly in the shoulder and sat down on the stool next to the Taurus. "How did you babysitting go?"

He told her about all of the progress Reade had made and his first word being spoken while he was there. The only thing he could talk about was Reade and what they had done and how wonderful a baby he was compared to her hellions.

The light in Kevin's face made Nazz curious. What had changed in Kevin? He had been so sombre the last few weeks, slowly sinking lower. In the middle of one of his stories, she said, "Kevin, what's up with you?"

He stopped talking and just looked at her. "What do you mean?" His green eyes were a bit guarded.

She looked out the bay door to the street beyond. "You just seem happier lately. I was wondering what caused it." She looked back up at her tall friend. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I would just like to know what's made you so happy."

He sighed and pulled over a rolling chair that had long since lost the back. He leaned his elbows on his knees and put his face in filthy hands. "Nazz, I really don't know what to tell you. I am happier now."

She stared at him as if seeing him in a new way. "It's not that you can't tell me, is it? You just won't tell me." Her voice was soft. "Kevin, it's Double-D, isn't it?"

His head jerked up and he peered at her with green eyes full of panic. "No!" he yelled.

A few of his men turned in his direction but saw Nazz and relaxed, returning to work.

He lowered his voice. "No, Nazz. Just no."

She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Kevin, I haven't seen you this defeated since you lost the State Championship when we were freshman. Talk to me. I'm not going to judge you. I did that a long time ago."

He snorted. "Gee thanks." He sighed and looked at his hands. "Nazz, I… I don't know what to say. I care about the dweeb and I don't know if that's okay or not. I don't know if I'm okay with it. I really love the little squirt. Kid stole my heart when I first saw him. But Edd is Double Dweeb. Nazz I don't know what is going on in my head." He looked up and was as close to tears as she had seen him in years.

She stood and pulled him up, dragging him to his office. Closing the door behind them and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his long arms around her and set his forehead on her shoulder. "It's okay, Kevin. It really is. I love you no matter what. Alright?"

The red-head squeezed her. "Nazz… I really care about the dork but I'm not gay. How is that even possible?"

She took his face in her palms and looked up at him. "Kev, you can't help who you fall in love with. I married Eddy, remember?" She chuckled. "Besides, is liking Edd so bad? He's really smart and is going places. He has a great kid and that's what you wanted in the first place isn't it, a baby?"

He closed his eyes and sagged. "Nazz, how are you always three steps ahead of me?"

She smiled. "Because you may have been running on a field all your life, but I was always watching from the side-lines. Remember when I would tell you where the holes in your defence were? You always told me I was a genius back then too. But I see the way you are now versus how you were then and I like what I see now."

"But I'm not gay, Nazz. I never have been," he said quietly, still trying to find a way out.

She took his hat off and petted his sweaty hair. "Kev, have you ever really thought about it before now? I mean… your dad pretty much… beat it into you that being gay is bad."

He winced at the thought of his childhood. Then he really thought about it. All of the years in the locker room and on the field, days spent in the hallways. He had dated girls and enjoyed it, but there were always moments when he had looked at the other guys. He would always lock away whatever budding attraction occurred and forget about it. "Shit."

Nazz gave him a soft smile. "Pretty much, big guy."

He moved away from her and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. She sat on the arm and pulled him against her side, petting his hair. "It's going to be okay, Kev. He's not the kind of person to hurt someone else just because. He'll listen. Maybe he'll even like you back. You've been there for him more than anyone else." She paused. "He called Eddy the other night." She chuckled. "Eddy was mad because he was in New York, but then he found out it was a dork thing and clamed up. They were talking about you because he kept calling you 'shovel-chin' like the old days. It sounded like Edd was happy with whatever they were talking about."

Kevin's face turned red and he smiled. "Thanks, Nazz." He looked up at her. "You're a really great friend, you know that right?"

She grinned her million-watt smile. "You betcha, big guy. What are you going to do now?"

He shrugged. "I guess I'm just going to have to tell him, aren't I? I've never been one for inaction."

"How are you going to tell him?" she asked.

He looked out the window. "I don't know, Nazz. I kind of want to get closer to him before I say anything. But then again, I don't want to get in any deeper before I tell him because he might just tell me to get out of his life."

She shook her head. "Kevin, you know Double-D isn't like that. He would never completely dump you because you fell in love with him."

He stared at her with eyes full of doubt. "Then why am I so afraid of him, Nazz? He has control over me and it's killing me. I _know_ he wouldn't do that. So why am I afraid that he will?"

Nazz squeezed his hand and smiled at him. "Kevin, when you love somebody, you give them everything. It's terrifying to know that, with a whim, they could break you. You're afraid because that is human nature. You want to protect yourself from getting hurt. And no one is judging you because of that."

He sat on that for a moment. "You know, I never did ask you how Eddy told you."

That startled a laugh out of her. "Oh God. You're resorting to taking pointers from Eddy? You must really have it bad." Her face softened. "For your information though, he took me to the creek and we sat on the bank. He asked me how I felt about some things and then I asked him how he felt about everybody we were graduating with. He told me he loved one of the kids from the cul-de-sac. When I asked him who, he leaned over and kissed me. I've never been more surprised." Her face was pink with the memory.

Kevin chuckled. "Why? We were all in love with you when we were kids. Why would it surprise you that one of us actually fell for you?"

She smiled. "Honestly, I thought it would be you for the longest time. We were always so close. I'm not disappointed in how things turned out though. I have two wonderful men in my life and two sons. What more could I ask for?"

He hugged her around her waist. "You are pretty great, Nazz."

She sniggered. "You're pretty great too, Kev. You just don't realise it most of the time." She poked him in the shoulder. "Let me know when you figure out how you're going to tell him. I want to give you my input."

His face turned red. "Nazz," he whined.

She giggled. "You're a doofus, Kevin. Someone's got to keep you on the straight and narrow."

He huffed at her.

She just grinned. "You know you love me." She looked at her watch. "I need to get going. I told Eddy I was going to the store." She kissed his sweaty temple and he flapped his hand at her.

"Nazz, quit that. I'm not one of your hellions," he groused.

She plopped his hat back over his hair. "You are the original hellion, Kevin. And you've always been mine, one way or another. So shut up. I'll do what I please." She stood and made her way to the door. She pierced him with her "mom" stare and said, "Call me when you figure it out, Kev."

He just nodded like a good kid who had just been scolded. When she left he leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Damn women. No wonder I gave them up," he grumbled. Then, he laughed at himself for admitting that out loud.

A knock on his door pulled his attention away from the tiles above. One of the guys asked him for some help and he got up, sighing. So much for a minute to himself. But he realised that just because he was stressing, didn't mean the world stopped turning.


	8. Birthday Blunders

_[D: I am so very sorry. I've been so frustrated with this story for a couple of weeks. I've been wrestling with it. I love all of you and I just don't want to disappoint you any longer. As a reward for your everlasting patience, here is some Katty Kevin. This is three months after the last chapter._

_Disclaimer: We alllll know I don't own this.]_

Edd had been planning Reade's birthday party for weeks. Everything was in place. Streamers had been hung with help from Kevin. Nazz was helping provide food. His mother and father were bringing a cake. Edd had promised not to buy Reade an animal until he turned three. Nazz had informed him just last week that Rolf would be in town.

He smiled at the thought of Kevin seeing his childhood friend again after so many years. Rolf's moved to the States had been hardest on Kevin. He had moped for weeks, refusing to come out of his house. It was sort of a surprise; everyone but Kevin knew.

With great care, Edd balanced grocery bags and entered his house. He heard Kevin in the kitchen and smiled. It was always nice to come home and Kevin already be there. He had been telling himself not to enjoy it too much, that things couldn't always stay this way, but the more emotional part of his brain always disagreed. _What's stopping you from telling him how you feel? You've known him all your life. Nothing but your own fear of rejection is keeping you from asking him if he feels the same way. _

He couldn't argue with the incessant voice, so he just ignored it and moved to the kitchen. Kevin was attempting to feed Reade baby food when he walked in. The red-head looked up and snapped into action when he saw the teetering stack of bags in Edd's arms. He swept all of them out of the brunette's arms and deposited them on the counter. "Why didn't you honk? I would have come to help." He raised a brow at the brunette in disapproval.

Edd shrugged. "I got it. They only started to fall when I opened the door." He walked over to Reade and wiped the apple sauce off of his pudgy face.

Kevin rolled his eyes and put the groceries away. "What time is Nazz supposed to get here?" he asked, glancing at the clock. It was a little after noon. He needed to get home and shower.

"She said one. But if I know Eddy, it will be closer to two. That man has never been on time for anything accept work in his life." Edd picked Reade up and made a face at him, eliciting a giggle.

Kevin watched and he swallowed the lump in his throat. Now was not the time. "You're probably right. I'm going to run home and get a shower." He grumbled. "Kid's going to be a baseball player one day. He threw applesauce into my hair. Again."

Edd chuckled and looked over at the red-head. He didn't realize it, but he was pouting. Edd tore his gaze away from Kevin's mouth and looked at his hair. The tell-tale dark sign of moisture near his temple made him glance at his son before returning his eyes to Kevin. He always got distracted with Kevin's hair. It was long after nearly a year's growth without a cut. The red-head had it pulled back in a low ponytail. Edd wouldn't say so out loud, but he liked Kevin's hair long. _It would give him something to hold onto when_… He stopped that thought on a dime. _Nope. Not going down that road again._

"I'm sorry, Kevin. You could use my shower if you wish." He kicked himself when thoughts of Kevin naked in his shower surfaced in his mind. Really. He was one of the leading minds in Chemical Engineering. It shouldn't be this hard to _not_ think about his friend naked.

Kevin declined his offer though. "Thanks, but I've got to change clothes anyway," he said, motioning to his oil stained work jeans. He pulled his keys out of his pocket. "It won't take me long."

Edd nodded and followed him to the door. "Be careful," he told Kevin as snow fell lightly, not really even sticking yet.

Kevin waved as he pulled his coat tighter around him. "I will. Can't miss Little Man's birthday."

To Edd's surprise, Nazz and her brood were on time. Edd greeted him as he always had. "Hey, Sockhead."

Double-D chuckled. "Eddy, I haven't worn my hat in years. You know that."

Eddy just shrugged. "You'll always be Sockhead to me," he said as they walked into the kitchen. "Where's Shovel-chin?"

Double-D rolled his eyes as he sat at the table with Reade on his knee. "Honestly... _Kevin_ went home to shower. Reade managed to get apple sauce in his hair. For the second time this week."

Nazz laughed from her station at the counter, stirring the contents of a bowl. She had commandeered his kitchen, threatening him with her spoon. "Seems your son is destined for sports."

Edd's brows came together. "Kevin said almost the same thing."

Nazz shrugged. "Kevin did it when he was a kid. He threw everything. His mom used to talk about it. It kind of became a joke."

Edd just nodded. He didn't really know what to say. He looked over at Eddy. "Can I ask you a question, Eddy?"

Eddy widened his eyes and made a dramatic pose. "The great and powerful Sockhead, asking me something. Quick Nazz, take a picture."

The other two dissolved into laughter. Edd wadded up a napkin and threw it at Edd. "Oh, shut up. I'm serious." He took a breath. "What do you think I should do about Kevin?" He had told them what he was feeling a few days before and wanted their input on the situation.

Eddy's laughter died. Sighing, he said, "Look, Double-D, you know how I feel about Shovel-chin. I can tolerate him because you two like him. That's it. He's still an asshole, but for some reason, he's chosen you guys to be nice to. If he makes you happy, then why not tell him?" He glanced at Nazz who smiled. "You never know what taking a chance might do."

Edd studied his oldest friend. That had been the single most selfless thing he had ever heard leave Eddy's mouth. "Thank you, Eddy." He looked over at Nazz. "What do you think?"

She opened her mouth to answer when shrieks of joy and a manly roar came from the general direction of the living room. She smiled. "Kevin's here." No sooner than she spoke, the door to the kitchen opened.

Kevin stood in the doorway, six feet two inches of attractive male, dressed in pressed black clothes with a green tie that pulled out the emerald of his eyes. His hat was nowhere to be found. The smile that split his face stunned Edd for a long moment. Malachai was attached to his leg, ridding on his foot and August was thrown over one shoulder.

The sight of that man covered in children was like an aphrodisiac to Edd for some reason.

"Speak of the Devil and he'll come running," he heard Eddy mumble.

Nazz put down her spoon and went to hug him. "You look spiffy. I didn't even know you owned an iron."

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Very funny. I'm not a Neanderthal." He plopped August on his feet and waved his leg around with Malachai still attached. The blonde screeched in glee. "Come one, punk. Let go," he said as he put his foot back down. "I'll come play with you guys in a minute."

Giggling, the twins ran back to the living room.

Edd just watched Kevin for a long moment as he talked to Nazz. He had never seen Kevin in anything but jeans and a t-shirt. He found that he quite liked the way the oxford displayed the width of his shoulders and the slacks hugged his trim waist. Kevin was in his prime and he knew exactly what he had to work with.

The red-head turned toward the Eds. He nodded to Eddy and offered a handshake. Nazz glared at him so he reciprocated, grudgingly. Finally, he turned to Edd who was holding Reade. His smile melted at the baby's pudgy hands that were flailing in his direction. Reade always had that effect on him. And Edd noticed. With a smile, Edd held Reade out to the red-head. Little chubby arms waved and Reade giggled when Kevin took him from Edd. Kevin held him above his head, grinning. "You gonna throw apple sauce at me again, little man?"

Reade's answer was to blow a spit bubble.

Edd just shook his head, amused at the way his son reacted to Kevin. He couldn't blame the smaller brunette. He adored the red-head too.

Kevin propped the birthday boy on his hip and looked at Edd. "Anything I can do?"

Before Edd could open his mouth and say, _You could go get in my bed_, Nazz cut him off. "Go entertain the boys. They're already hopped up on sugar."

Kevin groaned. "Fantastic." He readjusted Reade on his hip. "Thanks, _Mom_. Aren't you supposed to be the one that keeps them from eating sugar?"

She grinned at him. "Nah. I knew you would be here. Gotta keep you busy so you stay out of the kitchen."

He scowled at her and turned to Edd. "I burn one batch of cookies and I'm banned from the kitchen for life." Rolling his eyes, he turned to go. "Fine. I'll go entertain your hellions. I expect lasagna to make up for it," he called as he walked down the hall.

Nazz chuckled. "That man is as Irish as it gets and he still loves my lasagna."

Eddy shook his head. "I have to agree with Shovel-chin on this one. He's Irish but not dead. Your lasagna is why I married you."

Nazz picked up her spoon, calmly walked over to Eddy and smacked him on top of the head with it. "Hey," he whined, trying to fend off any more blows.

"Wanna try that again?" she asked, brandishing her spoon as Edd stifled his laughter.

Eddy grumbled an apology and some sweet words, schmoozing his wife into acquiescence. After she received a kiss and another apology, she returned to stirring the sauce she had been working on. Edd took the opportunity to ask. "Do you care to answer my question now, Nazz?"

She glanced up and sighed. "Edd, you're the smartest guy I know. You should know that you can't succeed unless you try, right?"

His face coloured at her chastising tone. "You, of course, are right."

Nazz hid her smile. Those two men were so oblivious. They loved each other but neither could see it in the other. Nazz refused to play match-maker though. They needed to figure this one out on their own.

Eddy changed the subject. "When is the 'son of a shepherd' supposed to show his ugly mug?"

Nazz glared and waved her spoon. "Eddy…"

The ex-scammer held up his hands. "Sorry. So when is he coming?"

"He said five on the phone yesterday, but he might be here early," Nazz finally supplied after staring at her husband.

Double-D just sat back and watched, amused at seeing his long-time friend be chastised by someone else.

Kevin played with the boys. The twins were being relatively well-behaved, and Reade was always good. He rolled cars around with them and built block towers. He really did love playing with them. The want to have kids of his own was eating at him again. He wanted the little brunette to be his son too. Frustrated, he sat back against the couch and just watched them for a minute.

Over the better part of a year, he had thought he just wanted a family. That had changed when Nazz made him realize that he wanted _Edd's _family. Edd included. He wasn't afraid of it anymore. He had accepted it. He was just afraid Edd wouldn't understand or feel the same way.

Kevin had decide, while in the shower, that he would tell Edd how he felt the next day, come hell or high water. It was time. He had carried it around with him long enough. He heard the doorbell but heard Edd call that he would answer it. He watched the brunette walk past, smiling. It was Kevin's personal opinion, but he thought Edd needed to smile more.

"Genius-Ed-boy! It has been a long time, yes?"

Kevin froze. He hadn't heard that voice in years. He hadn't thought he would ever again. Slowly, he rose and went to the doorway. Low and behold, there stood his childhood compadre. He stepped into the hall and watched Rolf envelop Edd in a hug. He was still ridiculously tall. His grin still at the ready.

"Rolf?" He wasn't quite sure he believed what he was seeing. It had been a decade since he had seen him.

The tall man looked over Edd's shoulder. With a grin, he let go of Edd and stepped around him. "Casanova-Kevin. I have missed you more than Nana's Mamaliga."

Kevin's face split into a grin. "Rolf! It is you!" He yanked his old friend into a bear hug, which was returned with bone-crushing enthusiasm. He looked past Rolf's shoulder and saw Edd smiling at him softly. If he hadn't had his arms full of Rolf, he would have had Edd there. He knew Edd had a hand in Rolf being there.

Rolf sat him away and eyed him. "You have no changed, Casanova-Kevin. That is good. For I have missed my old friend."

Kevin just grinned up at Rolf. "Missed you, too, dude."

Edd watched as Kevin led Rolf to the living room where the children were. He wiped his eyes on a tissue he retrieved from the box on the hall table and smiled at the laughter. The smile that had lit up Kevin's face had been worth getting everyone to pretend they didn't know what was going to happen.

And Kevin had looked at him. He had seemed like maybe Rolf wasn't the only person he had wanted to be close to in that moment. He had looked almost desperate as he looked at Edd. He made a mental note to ask him about it later.

He had already decided to talk to Kevin about his feelings the following day.

Ed was the next to arrive, a sweet young woman on his arm. She was pretty in the way birds were: small-boned and fragile. Her hair was a vibrant shade of blue like a jay's wings. It was no wonder Ed liked her so much. Rosalind was the name she gave Edd when they were introduced. He decided that he liked her when she told Ed that she was glad she had come to meet "his smart Double-D" without making fun of his odd speech pattern.

Edd's parents weren't far behind Ed and Rosalind. His mother was dressed impeccably in an evening dress as always and his father had opted for one of his favourite sweaters.

Edd pulled Kevin away from Rolf long enough to introduce them to the red-head.

Afterwards, his mother pulled him aside as his father followed Kevin back to play with the boys. "Eddward, may I ask you something?"

Concerned at his mother's serious manner, he nodded. "Of course."

She took his hands in hers. "I know you grew up with Kevin, even though we never met him. But are you seeing him?"

The blatant question caused Edd to flush. "N-no. I'm not seeing Kevin."

His mother looked at him over the tops of her glasses. "But you want to be; don't you?"

Edd covered his face with a hand, missing his hat for the first time in years. "Yes," he admitted quietly. "I do." He drug his hand down over his face. "Why?"

His mother smiled. "I can tell. You didn't introduce the rest of your friends. And…" She put a hand on his face. "You have never smiled quite like that around anyone."

Edd looked down. "As usual, you are correct."

"It's alright, Eddward. We have known about that for years. I am just happy that he makes you happy. I hope he cares about you the same way."

Edd nodded. "That makes two of us. I was going to tell him tomorrow."

His mother nodded. "Sounds like a good course of action, my dear."

Edd was laughing as he opened the door at something Ed had said, but it died on his lips when he saw who was at the door. She was as gorgeous as ever, tall and slender, even bundled up in her coat. Light brown hair curled over her shoulders. Her deep brown eyes were just the same.

"Helena."

"Hello, Eddward." Her voice was the same, lovely and husky. It made his head fuzzy.

He shook his head and asked, "What are you doing here?"

She raised a brow. "It's our son's birthday, is it not? I came to celebrate."

His hand clenched around the doorknob. "Helena, you told me you didn't even want our son. You told me you didn't want to see me after I left with him. Ever. Excuse me if I ask again, but what are you doing here?"

She shivered in the cold of the Canadian winter. "Can I come in? It's really cold out here."

He considered telling her no, but nodded and moved aside, letting her come into his home.

He motioned for her to step into the dining room so they might speak without interruption since everyone else was in the living room. She went to stand beside the window and look out over the barren wonderland of winter. "What is it you want, Helena?" His voice was hard with his fear that she was going to demand Reade back but the rational part of his mind told him she couldn't do that because she had already signed the papers.

She turned to look at him, a look of hurt on her face. "Oh, Eddward. I don't want anything. I really did just want to come here and celebrate with you and Reade. I never stopped loving you. I wasn't ready for a baby. I was still in college. I was terrified that it would ruin my chances."

Edd shook his head in disappointment at the woman he had been so in love with. "Helena, I was scared too. But I took him and have raised him for a year. He hasn't ruined my chances. He hasn't even put a damper on my life. You are just using that as an excuse."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Eddward, that's not true. I really do love you. And Reade."

Kevin had come to see where Edd had gone and was leaning against the wall outside the room where Double-D and that – that woman – were.

He had heard the whole conversation. Rage boiled in his veins and made his stomach sink to his pelvis. He felt like he was going to throw up. Instead, he stood up straight and pasted a smile on his face, slightly evil with the plan that was crystallizing in his mind. He heard her heels clicking, as if she were moving around. Making his move, he stepped around the open door and found her close to Edd. She looked over her shoulder and glared at him, fake tears making her look ridiculous.

Yeah, he hadn't liked her either. That's why he knew he had to do something so she didn't break Edd again.

He turned his attention back to the other male in the room and gave Edd the real smile he had been wanting to give him for months. His eyes were soft and his lips were turned up just at the corners as he moved across the room. "Hey, Double-D." He made sure to use the familiar name to show _her_ that he was _his_.

Edd looked confused and tilted his head at Kevin, but he just strode until they were standing in front of each other. Kevin mustered every bit of courage he had in his body and leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to the genius's.

That woman gasped in astonishment, but Edd just held still until Kevin pulled away. His eyelids rose over those perfect eyes and Kevin's heart thumped loudly against his chest, almost painful. He glanced down at Double-D's mouth and found it slightly open. He smirked.

Remembering there was a point to what he had just done, he looked over his shoulder and leered at that woman. Not even giving her the decency of facing her, he said, "Love, he doesn't need you. He's got something way better now. Why don't you just head back home to that nice cushy job of yours and leave us to our little family?"

She shrieked in rage and stomped out of the room, leaving the house with a slammed front door.

After he heard a car door slam, he turned to Edd, his anger bubbling over. "How could you even begin to believe those lies, Edd? Seriously? She hurt you, dude. Or don't you remember?"

Edd's shock melted away to be replaced by anger. "When you came in, I was about to tell her to go to hell, Kevin. I appreciate your concern but this was really none of your business!"

"Goddammit, Double-D. Don't you fucking get it? You are my business." He was repressing the urge to shout.

Edd seemed taken aback. "I'm quite sure I have no idea what you mean."

Kevin stared at him. "To be a genius, you sure can be an idiot sometimes. I kissed you because I'm in love with you." His face burned with humiliation but he wasn't backing down now.

Edd's mouth fell open. "I-in love with me?!" he asked in disbelief, the colour draining from his face at the sudden confession.

"Yeah. In love with you." He turned and began to walk out. "Should have known this wouldn't work out the way I wanted." He stormed out, passing a confused Nazz who asked him what was going on. He ignored her and kept walking. He shoved his feet into his boots, hissing at the cold and almost ran to his motorcycle, trying to escape everything that had just happened.

He heard Nazz calling his name, but he didn't stop. He shoved his helmet on and pulled away, letting the wind blow his troubles away and he booked it down the small street.

[Despair]

Edd stared after Kevin in disbelief as he stormed out of the house. He could hear Nazz calling after the red-head. He heard Kevin's motorcycle and then it faded into the distance. He sank into a chair.

Nazz came in, looking angry, but she grew concerned when she saw the look on Edd's face. She sat beside him. "What just happened, Double-D?"

He shook his head to clear it. "I think Kevin just told me he's in love with me," he said in a flat voice.

She put a hand over her eyes. "What. An. Idiot."

"He kissed me and told Reade's mother that I found something better." He couldn't get his voice to work right. It was too quiet.

Nazz's mouth fell open. "His mother was here? Is that why the door slammed? And Kevin told her to basically get the fuck out?" Edd nodded. "But why did he kiss you?"

Double-D shrugged, still in shock. "I do not know."

The blonde was watching him closely. "Edd," she sighed. Time to spill the beans. "He didn't just say that to scare her away. He's been trying to work up the courage for weeks to tell you. He loves you."

Edd let go of the breath he hadn't been away he'd been holding. "Nazz, don't lie to me."

She shook her head. "Not lying. He's been torn up over since you came back to town. He fell in love with Reade first. You weren't far behind." She gave him a smile. "I told you to tell him today only because he was taking so damn long."

Unbidden, tears of relief and anger slid down his face. "He's such an asshat," he whispered.

Nazz chuckled. "Could have told you that."

Edd stared at his hands for a long moment as they listened to everyone else, still laughing. His resolve solidified. "Nazz, after everyone leaves, will you keep Reade for the night? I'm going to go give Kevin Barr a piece of my mind."

She couldn't hold back her laugh. "It's about tie. You're pretty much the only one who hasn't been angry at him since we were kids." She sat a hand on his arm, giving it a squeeze. "Yes, I'll watch Reade. He's easy to look after."

Edd sighed and wiped his face, stowing his anger away for later. "Thank you."

It took a while, but Edd finally got everyone out of his home. It was after midnight before he could leave to go to Kevin's.

The streets of Peach Creek were empty as he made his way to Kevin's apartment. He only saw two cars the entire way over. His anger at Kevin bubbled to the surface again as he drove.

He wasn't angry at what Kevin had done with Helena. He was grateful for that. No. What he was angry about was the fact that Kevin had told him he _loved_ him and stormed out without letting him get his feet under him to respond.

He reached the complex and stared at his steering wheel. This was it. Now or never.

And it had to be now.

_[D: Holy Jesus Fucking Christ on a crutch. That was a beast to write and I am eternally in your debt because you have all stuck with me through this. I have the greatest fans on this earth. 3]_


	9. Reaching the Summit

_[D: Fucking finally. I am so very sorry for being stuck so long, but for some reason, it finally came to me after weeks of waiting. This bastard has sapped a lot of energy and sanity from me. I was struggling so hard. I had ten pages of it written for the longest time. The rest all came at once while I was half-asleep typing with my eyes shut. _

_I really and truly do love every single one of you for your dedication in staying with me. I hope this is worth the wait. _

_Warning: Lemon and mild-violence (Like, very mild). _

_Disclaimer: -sobs- I know. I just can't admit it.]_

Kevin downed half of his beer and flipped the TV to a hockey game. He didn't particularly care for either team playing but it was something to occupy his mind. Anything was better than the constant re-run he'd been working on for the last three hours. How could he have been so stupid as to think that had been a good idea? Sure, he'd only been trying to protect the dork, but everything he'd said after that had been true.

His head thumped back against the couch and he stared at the flashing colours on the ceiling, trying to drown out the emotions that were threatening to make him cry. He hated crying. Especially over losing someone. He rubbed his fist against his eye and glared at an imaginary Double-D, wanting to yell at him but knowing the dork deserved a whole hell of a lot better than someone like him.

A soft knock on his door brought his head around. He glanced at the clock. It was after midnight. Who the hell would be knocking on his door in the middle of the night? Then he thought back to the party and figured it was Nazz. Grunting, he stood and went to the door, fully prepared to tell her to go home and that he was fine.

He was stunned when he opened the door to find a crying Double-D.

The brunette wasn't sobbing though. He looked absolutely pissed. Kevin stepped back so Edd could pass him. He didn't want his neighbors in his business. "Edd, I'm sor—"

Edd rounded on him with his hands on his hips. "No! You don't get to say you're sorry, Kevin Barr! You pull something like that in my house and you think you can just walk out and not let me get a word in edgewise? No! You can't." He stalked over to him and bunched Kevin's shirt up in his hand, jerking him so close they were touching. His blue eyes were on fire. "You don't get to throw my whole world for a loop and then walk away like nothing happened. Do you know why?" Kevin shook his head. He had never seen Double-D get this riled up. "Because you just messed with my life back there." He was huffing with the force of his anger.

Kevin's eyes went wide in shock. He would have never guessed Edd would get this angry with him. "Double-D, I'm really sorry," he said in a gentle tone, knowing Edd had every right to never want to see him again. The anger at the brunette had fled when he had seen the tears on his face and he couldn't work up the righteousness to get angry back. "I never meant to make you mad. I never meant to tell you like that. You've got to believe me." He closed his hands over Double-D's fists, still clenched in his shirt. "I was going to tell you tomorrow, but then I heard that woman try to worm her way back into your life and I lost my temper. I didn't want her to ruin my chance before I even got one."

The rage fled at the sound of a gentle tone, quickly as it had come. Edd's eyes went wide in horror and his hands relaxed and let go of Kevin's shirt. "Kevin. Oh, dear." He smoothed his hands over the wrinkles he had made in Kevin's Oxford. "My apologies, Kevin." His hands were quivering as they pressed the folds out.

Kev caught his fluttering hands and held them flat against his chest. "Chill, dork. It's alright. I can always iron it later. Tell me what you're thinking now that your dark side disappeared."

Edd chuckled slightly. "That would be putting in lightly." He sighed and looked down. "The reason I was so angry was because you assumed things about me and didn't let me correct you."

Kev's brows came together. "Correct me?"

Edd looked back up with lowered lids. "Yes, correct you." He bunched Kevin's shirt in his hands again and pulled him forward, pressing his mouth to the mechanic's.

Kevin froze, unable to believe what was happening. When Edd started to pull away, he wrapped an arm around his back and shoved his other hand into midnight locks, holding his mouth against Edd's. He groaned when Edd's tongue flicked out to tease his lip. Edd took advantage and flicked it out again to tease Kevin's.

Kevin pulled back to look his dork in the eye, calming his breathing so he could say what needed to be said. "You know what this means to me, right? I'm never ever letting you go. Ever."

"I wouldn't want anything less." Ed pulled him closer, pressing their mouths together again.

His hand in Edd's hair tightened. Fuck, yes. He'd been waiting months for this. He pulled Edd's lip into his mouth and nipped at the plump flesh. The raven-haired man groaned, his hands sliding down to Kevin's ribs. Kevin pulled away, mouths still touching, so he could speak. "Shouldn't we slow down?"

Edd pressed their lips together again. "Probably. But I don't plan to. Do you?"

Kevin laughed against Edd's mouth, soft and pliant. "Not a chance."

Edd took the opportunity to explore Kevin's jawline and back him into the wall. Support was good. Edd was nipping at his jaw and neck, making his knees weak.

"Where's Reade?" Kevin ground out between fevered kisses.

"Nazz," the brunette groaned. "Left with Nazz."

"Thank God." He yanked Edd's shirt out of his pants and fumbled with the buttons, trying not to pop them off. Edd's mouth worked its way down his jaw to his neck, nibbling at the skin. God Edd smelled good, like soap and burning leaves. Kevin groaned and grabbed his hair when he bit his collarbone.

Kev's head fell back to the wall with a thud. "Fuck."

Edd was leaving pinked places on Kevin's skin, undoing the buttons on the red-head's shirt as he did so. He yanked it out of Kevin's waistband, and pushed it off his shoulders. His hands trailed over Kevin's stomach, tracing the valleys between hardened muscle groups. His stomach twitched from the touches.

"You were always in such good shape," Edd said against Kevin's neck.

Kevin shuddered at the tone. "Well, I tried." He swallowed. "Always had somebody to impress."

"Who are you trying to impress now, Kevin?" Edd sounded smug.

Kevin flipped the tables and switched their positions, slamming Edd's back into the wall. "There's this certain brunette," he said as he pinned Edd's hips to the wall. "He's been driving me crazy lately. And I always want to be at my best…" He laid open-mouthed kisses on Edd's neck. "When I'm courting someone, whether they know it or not." He nipped Edd's collarbone, drawing a groan from the brunette.

"Fuck… Kevin."

With a smirk, he brushed a finger over the mark. "Language, Double-D," he mocked.

Edd shuddered at the touch and gripped Kevin's hips, pulling them together. Edd's blue eyes were blazing as he glared. "Then you better occupy my mouth, Kevin."

Kev almost staggered at the tone. He'd never seen this side of Edd before. He couldn't say he disliked it. His grin was sly. "I can think of multiple ways to do that, but I'd rather hear you curse yourself hoarse." He thrust his hips forward, feeling Edd's cock against his own. Before Edd could protest, he threaded his fingers through brunette locks and kissed him hard. Edd moaned into his mouth and rocked his hips. "Fuck, Dork. You're killing me." He smoothed his hands over Edd's stomach and tugged on the waistband of his pants. "Need these off."

Edd's breath caught at how raspy Kevin's voice was. He nodded, face flushed. Kev popped the button open and the zipper slid down with a hushed murmur. Kevin looked down and saw pale muscles disappear into green boxers. He met Edd's eyes again. "You sure about this?"

Edd nodded and pushed his pants and boxers past his hips so they slid to the floor. "Positive."

Kevin stepped back. "Let me look at you." Edd was blushing, leaning heavily against the wall, tall, gangly and mostly naked, his dress shirt hanging on his elbows. Lean muscles were covered in satiny pale skin, lightly kissed by the sun. A thin line of midnight ran from his bellybutton to the base of his cock which stood proudly, begging to be touched.

An idea occurred to Kevin. He stepped close and kissed Edd again. "I want to do something for you. I've never done it before so I might suck at it." Before Edd could question him or protest, he stepped back and got to his knees. He'd had this done to him before and didn't really care for it, but he found that he really wanted to do this for Edd.

He wrapped a hand around Edd and leaned forward, pressing his lips to the head of his cock. The brunette made a strangled noise in his throat and he glanced up. Double-D's head was against the wall but his eyes were open slightly, watching what the red-head was up to. Kevin took that as a good sign that the genius was up for it. He licked over the head, tasting the dark spice of Edd at his most primal. He groaned and lapped at the underside, rolling his tongue over the sensitive vein he knew resided there. He was definitely going to be doing this more. The taste of Edd on his tongue made him crave more.

Without taking his mouth off of his genius, he reached back and pulled the rubber-band out, letting his hair fall loose. He groaned when the pressure at the back of his head was released and was immediately replaced with fingers sliding against his scalp. Edd was panting from the pressure on his cock. He needed Kevin to move his mouth. Right now.

As if reading the brunette's mind, Kevin dipped his head, taking Edd half-way into his mouth. He repeated the movement a few more times, experimenting, pressing his tongue on different places before he pulled Edd's cock all the way to the back of his throat. In doing so, he discovered that he didn't have a gag reflex. He hummed and rubbed his thumbs over Edd's hips.

"Oh fucking God, Kevin." The genius was reduced to slurring his words and cursing.

Kevin needed to hear it, but louder. He pulled his mouth off of Edd, the brunette whimpering, and looked up to those hooded eyes. He gripped the wrist connected to the fingers in his hair. "I want you to control this; me." He had never given power of himself to anyone. He hoped Edd grasped the gravity of what was happening.

Edd lifted his heavy head off the wall to look fully down at Kevin. "Are you sure?" he asked, tugging gently on an auburn lock.

Kevin had never been so sure of anything in his life. He stood and kissed Edd, pulling him over to the couch so the brunette wouldn't have to hold himself up. He settled himself between his dork's thighs and kissed Edd's chest. "Yes. I'm sure. I trust you." He trailed his mouth down Edd's flat stomach, back to his cock. He licked from base to head and took it back into his mouth.

Edd's hands slid back into Kevin's hair, holding on for dear life. The twinge of pain on his scalp added something to the whole experience. He set his elbows on either side of Edd's thighs and started moving in a rhythm, letting Edd decide when he would take over. He knew what felt good for himself, so he pushed up against the bottom with his tongue, putting pressure on the most sensitive part. It took only moments for Edd to feel comfortable with taking control of Kevin's movements. He guided slowly at first, increasing his speed slightly. Kevin was comfortable with it and found that the feeling of Edd in his mouth was something he liked more than he thought he should.

Edd watched Kevin closely, his powerful shoulders bunching with his movements, thumbs stroking the outsides of Edd's thighs where they rested. He never thought Kevin would be into this. He had been straight for so long, Edd would have guessed he would be completely against it, but he had been so wrong. Kevin seemed to be enjoying it, with no sign of tiring. His mouth was hot and he knew just how to press his tongue against Edd to drive him near the brink after only a few moments.

"Kevin…" He pulled the red-head away from his cock. Kevin looked up at him, cheeks flushed, curiosity in his eyes. "I'm close…" he managed.

Edd was slouched against the back of the couch, his mouth almost slack. Kevin thought it was sexier than any pin-up could have been. At Edd's words, he lapped at the brunette's head, taking the pre-cum into his mouth. "'S'okay. I want to taste you." The hands in his hair loosened but didn't let go. He glanced up at Edd, seeing the brunette blushing. He kept his eyes on his dork's as he lowered his mouth and took him all the way back in, rolling his tongue along the bottom and squeezed Edd's hips lightly.

Edd's breathing shortened and the tight coil that had been building in his lower belly sprang loose. He jerked and cried out as he came into Kevin's mouth. Kevin's strong hands kept his hips in place as he rode out the orgasm.

When Edd finally shuddered a last time, Kevin pulled away and licked his bottom lip. "That was… different."

Edd was completely jumbled as he just stared at Kevin, panting. "You lied to me…"

Kevin raised a brow at him. "How so?" He was breathing slightly harder than he normally would. His thumbs played over Edd's hips.

Edd shook his head and sat forward, hands cupping Kevin's cheeks to tilt his face up. "There is no way you've never done that before." He pressed a light kiss to the red-head's slightly puffy lips.

Kevin chuckled. "God's honest truth." He nuzzled Edd's neck and pulled the brunette forward so they were pressed chest-to-chest and held the other close. "Love you."

Edd shook his head at Kevin and smiled. "Love you too." He reached between them and slid his fingers into Kevin's pants, brushing his fingertips over Kevin's cock. "You need to be taken care of."

Kevin shuddered and groaned slightly. "Honestly, I don't even care about me, right now. I've got the taste of you on the back of my throat and you to hold. The rest isn't even important right now."

Edd blushed all the way to his collar. He hadn't been expecting that. Recovering, he kissed Kevin's ear. "It's important to me," he whispered. He pressed his palm against Kevin's cock, eliciting a moan from the red-head. "I want this," he said, wrapping his hand around Kevin.

The ex-jock's head fell forward onto Edd's shoulder. "Fuck." Edd was being very persuasive and he was coming up short of reasons to say no. He turned his face and kissed Edd's jaw. "Okay." He pulled Edd's hand out of his pants slowly, loathe to remove the contact. "I'll be right back," he said, standing.

Edd nodded and watched him go, knowing he wouldn't be gone for long. He glanced down and realized his shirt was still on his arms. He unbuttoned the cuffs and slid it off, straightening it out.

Kevin was doing much the same thing in his bathroom, folding it over the towel bar. He looked at himself in the mirror. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was nervous. He took his belt off and hung it over his shirt. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he reached into the drawer to retrieve what he had initially come for. He stuck it in his pocket and returned to the living room to find Edd hanging his shirt on the back of a chair.

Kevin smiled at the tall lanky figure. He looked just as good in clothes as he did out of them. He walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around Edd's waist. The brunette jumped slightly but relaxed back into him.

Kevin placed a kiss on Edd's shoulder. "Love you," he said quietly. It was more of a relief every time he said it. He played with Edd's happy trail lazily.

Edd let out a small laugh at the light touches and said those three words back. He turned in Kevin's' arms and wrapped his arms around the red-head's neck. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to both of them. So too did Kevin picking Edd up and carrying him to his bed.

Kevin's kisses were soft, nothing like the heated force he had used in the beginning. He wanted to take his time for now. He let Edd's slender fingers undo the button on his pants and he kicked them off after he grabbed the bottle he had stashed in the pocket.

Edd rolled them over so he could inspect Kevin's body, running his hands over muscles kept taut with the physical labour he did every day. Heavy shoulders ran into a carved chest. Strong abdominals met sculpted hips and thighs. Dark auburn hair surrounded the base of Kevin's cock. Edd touched it lightly. Kevin let out a breath. His gentle touches were driving Kevin mad, but he wasn't going to stop Edd. This was a learning experience. He was learning what Edd liked about him. The light touches turned into stroking hands. He watched Edd's face and realized this was the way he liked Edd best, focused absolutely on a task. Edd wanted to learn every dip and curve of Kevin's body and Kevin loved it. He loved watching Edd's mind at work, filing away every small detail.

The intelligence in Edd's green eyes made his cock ache.

Impulsively, he pulled Edd's face down and kissed him hard. The brunette melted into him and his hands kneaded at the soft skin under Kevin's ribs. It still blew his mind that he could touch Edd, demand that his body respond, and it did. He'd waited a long time for this. He had researched for long hours just so he would know what he was doing. The fact that his hand had been down his pants for most of it was something he had chosen to ignore.

Edd pulled away from him slowly and he looked up. The brunette had never been very good at hiding what he was feeling from Kevin. The dork had his heart in his eyes. "Are you sure about this, Kevin?"

The red-head chuckled. "Of course, I am. I've been thinking about this in particular for about four months now." Which was true. He hadn't even realized it, but he had been having more and more thoughts about Edd. They had snuck up on him.

Edd's face was scarlet as he admitted, "I have too." A light laugh left his mouth. "It seems we have wasted rather a lot of time."

Kevin nodded. "Unfortunately. But that also gives me something to work towards. Try and make it up to you." He pulled Edd's mouth back down to his. "Please do continue your exploration. I was enjoying that."

Edd's face grew darker. "I'm sorry. You are just different from myself…"

Kevin smiled. "Edd, it's fine. Trust me; I like your hands all over me." He'd been waiting too long for just that.

Edd tentatively took Kevin up on his offer and ran his hands over the red-head's stomach and then up over his chest, stopping at his shoulders. He touched Kevin's clavicles lightly and the mechanic shuddered. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to the spot that had gotten a reaction. He flicked his tongue out and dragged it across the bone. Kevin's head arched back and he moaned. When had those become sensitive?

Edd took advantage of Kevin's kicked back head and pressed his teeth against Kevin's artery. The red-head jerked and moaned. He took that as a good sign and bit down harder. Kevin's strong fingers dug into his thighs and his breathing quickened. Edd suppressed a smile. Kevin had always been verbal. He had just discovered that sex was no different for him. Edd pulled his teeth away and lapped at the reddened circle he had left, soothing it.

Kevin was learning with Edd. There were things he didn't know he liked, apparently. Biting was one of them. He had missed most of his "experimentation" years because he was celibate for no reason. He had a lot of catching up to do. He spoke the genius's name, earning him a raised brow and a small smile. "I love you." He couldn't stop saying it and he didn't think he would ever be able not to say it. He'd waited twenty-six years to express it.

Edd chuckled and leaned down to kiss him. "Love you, too."

The brunette straightened and grabbed the bottle of lube, putting some on his fingers before arching back and sliding a finger into himself. He moaned and Kevin's mouth hung open. He hadn't expected Edd to do it to himself. His grip on Edd's thighs tightened as Edd stretched himself further.

When he felt like he was relaxed enough, he poured some into his hand and stroked Kevin. The red-head's eyes fluttered and he groaned at the contact. Edd's hand felt better than his own. The engineer sat up on his knees and slowly lowered himself onto Kevin.

Kevin couldn't look away. He didn't want to miss any part of himself and the genius coming together. Edd's body squeezed tight around his and he was physically restraining himself so he wouldn't hurt the brunette. Edd was panting, his hands on Kevin's chest holding him up as he finally slid all the way onto him. He didn't move right away and Kevin's hands moved to stroke over his ribs and arms to take his mind off it until he was ready.

"I'm sorry. It's been so long since…" Edd's voice trailed off.

Kevin's voice shook with his contained lust. "I-it's alright. I kn-know." He kneaded the muscles in Edd's thighs, shaking with the brunette's pain and effort. He had never felt this with anyone else he had ever slept with. Of course, he hadn't been in love with anyone else either.

Edd was shaking. He hadn't felt this sort of pain in years. It wasn't intense pain, but it was its own kind of hell. He wanted to move so badly, but he knew if he did before his body was ready, he would injure himself on Kevin. The red-head was being much more patient than he would have expected and that was helpful. The massaging fingers and care-filled words helped. He focused on the heavy breathing Kevin was doing under his palms. It calmed and helped him relax enough to where the pain faded. He opened his eyes and looked at Kevin. "Okay."

The red-head let out a breath. "I'll follow you." He wanted Edd to be in control of this. It was, after all, Edd's body that would suffer if he moved too quickly.

Edd nodded and lifted his hips slowly, moaning as the stretch of pain turned into pleasure. Kevin's breath caught in his throat at the sound and the feel of Double-D's muscles tightening around him as the brunette moved slowly. For a brief moment, Kevin thought Edd was going to slide off completely only to have the brunette sink back down, stroking both of them.

Kevin's fingers stopped being gentle as they sank into the muscles of Edd's thighs, trying to restrain himself from thrusting up into the promising heat. He watched Edd's face, the genius's mouth open with the small moans that were escaping his lips. The mechanic panted as Edd started moving a little faster. He'd forgotten what it felt like to be buried within someone else instead of just his hand.

The slight edge of pain in his legs contrasted with what he was feeling elsewhere as Edd rode Kevin. The genius hadn't done this since his first year of college, and then only a few times. But it was better with Kevin. Those few times had been to relieve tension. This was to build a base for something greater that would come later.

Kevin's hips moved of their own accord and he matched Edd's rhythm, coming up to meet the raven's hips. He couldn't take his eyes off of the genius's face. The usually solemn genius was so expressive in the throes of passion. Kevin groaned at the new added friction and pulled Edd down to claim his mouth, continuing to move his hips.

Edd nipped Kevin's lip, hands firmly planted on the red-head's ribs. The hands in his hair were holding on tight with the bigger male's need and it felt delightful.

Kevin's need for Edd overrode everything he had intended. He flipped their positions without losing rhythm with the engineer, driving his body into Edd's, harder than the brunette had been.

Double-D was momentarily surprised at the sudden shift of position from Kevin but moaned when Kevin used more force. "Fuck…" he moaned. His legs wrapped around Kevin's waist as the auburn-haired male wrapped his arms around his waist, plastering them together. Edd used the new vantage point to sink his teeth into Kevin's neck on the opposite side that he had abused earlier.

The red-head shuddered and groaned, squeezing Edd as he sped up again. When did pain start turning him on? Fuck if he knew. Kevin hadn't been prepared for this. He had expected gentle lovemaking not his hormones taking over like a teenager and unable to stop his movements, or the intensity with which Edd was responding.

Edd's fingers sank into his shoulder muscles, rocking with Kevin's demands. If the red-head kept this up, the first round wasn't going to last too much longer for him. It had been too long since he'd gotten laid and he had to take care of Reade so he didn't ever have much time for himself.

Kevin was struggling not to let himself go. Eight years was a long time to go without someone and his body was over-stimulated by the brunette underneath him.

Suddenly, Edd's head fell back with a loud moan. Kevin didn't stop and Edd moaned again when he thrust back in. "Fuck, do that again," Edd breathed.

Kevin did what the brunette told him and angled his hips just so, brushing against Edd's prostate. The genius let out a string of curses on a moan. Kevin kept doing it, laying kisses on Edd's neck. He nipped the other's collarbone and sucked a dark mark.

The sudden suction and the abuse of his body was too much for the brunette. He barked a curse and arched, coming between them onto their stomachs. The brunette's muscles tightening around him sent Kevin over and he filled Edd.

They clung to each other, panting with the effort they had just put into one another. Kevin didn't want to move just yet and that was fine by the brunette. He ran his hands through auburn hair, pushing it back from Kevin's face. The mechanic leaned down and pressed their mouths together, the fingers in his hair tightening slightly to hold him there.

_[Neverland]_

Hours later, they lay on the couch. Kevin's ear was pressed to Edd's chest, listening to his heartbeat settle back into a slow rhythm after round three. Edd was running his fingers through Kevin's hair. He was almost asleep but turned his face over toward the room and noticed the TV was still on. Making blurry eyes focus, he read the score on Sports Center and chuckled. "Penguins won," he murmured.

Edd paused his hand briefly, presumably to look over. "So they did. Were you hoping for such an outcome?"

The red-head propped his chin up on Edd's chest to look at him. "I didn't care about the game. this is the outcome I was hoping for." He pulled the energy he needed to move from some long-forgotten reserve and slid up Edd's body to kiss soft lips, puffy from abuse from Kevin's teeth. The hand still in his hair tightened and held him there. It wasn't heated like their earlier kisses. It was more of a slow burn in their chests. This was emotion where the previous kisses had been pent up lust and frustration. Kevin decided that he liked these better.

His hands pushed under Edd's back to pull him as close as their bodies would allow. He pulled his mouth just far enough away to look at the brunette's face. "I love you, Edd."

Edd's smile, just an upturn of of the lips, was soft. "Love you too, Kevin."

Kev kissed him again. "Come on. My bed is more comfortable." He stood and pulled Edd to his feet. Now that he was allowed to, he couldn't keep his hands off Edd. When his fingers ghosted over his ribs, Edd's breath caught. Kevin pulled him against him and pressed his face into the crook of the brunette's shoulder. The genius wrapped his arms around Kevin's shoulders and just held him.

Kevin mumbled something and he tilted the red-head's face up. "What?"

Kevin was blushing. "I said, 'Don't leave'."

Edd smiled. "I hadn't planned on it. My night is yours." He glanced at the clock to see it was after four. "What's left of it, at any rate."

Kevin shook his head. "No, I mean ever." He looked distressed. He took a deep breath, arms still around Edd. "It's technically 'tomorrow' so I'm going to say what I had planned on saying." His blush spread to his ears. "When you showed up at my shop, I was surprised to see you after so many years. Then, Nazz called me up. She told me that she had heard a rumour that you weren't alone in your return.

"I couldn't get you off my mind. The kid stole my heart the second I saw his eyes." He cleared his throat, voice thick with emotion. "Then, I realized that I was actually in love with your eyes. I didn't figure it out until you left for New York. I missed you while you were gone. That's what I was trying to tell you that morning.

"Last night, I lost my temper, and I really am sorry. I am just so ridiculously, stupidly in love with you that I can't handle someone trying to take you and Reade away from me.

"So when I say 'stay', I don't mean just the night. I mean forever. I know I'm doing this ass backwards, but I really would like to spend the rest of my days talking through your problems with work and laughing over spaghetti with you and watching Reade grow up." He chuckled. "After all, he needs someone to teach how to control a pitch."

Eddward Marion Vincent wasn't often struck dumb, but Kevin Barr was one of the few people who could manage the feat. He looked like a guppy for a moment, mouth opening and closing but no words were forthcoming. Finally, he pulled himself together enough to get words out. "Kevin... Did you just- "

The red-head nodded. "Sort of. I want to go out with you and do it for rea when the time is right." His smile was still in place. "Can I have an answer to the dating question at least?"

Edd's mind, for some inexplicable reason, flashed back to months before when he had left for New York. Kevin _had_ been acting like his husband. Neither had even realized at the time. He had come home early to see _Kevin_.

He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he said, "I'm taking your last name," calmly.

Kevin just stared at him for a long moment, then the light went on.

"Really?"

When Edd nodded, he pulled the brunette close and kissed him until they were both short of breath. "I love you." He liked saying it, despite how scared he had just been.

Edd smiled and rubbed a thumb over Kevin's cheekbone. "I love you too, Kevin."

_[D: This motherfucker… Dear God. I really love this chapter and I wanted it to be perfect, so I didn't force it. I hope it lived up to your expectations. This is not the end, my dears, even though it feels like it. So keep aboard the S.S. KevEdd. Once more unto the bridge~!]_


	10. Meeting the Parents

_Chapter Ten - Affaire de Coeur_

_[D: Aight. Look. I did a thing and it didn't take me ages to do it. Be proud. I don't normally do this, but I have had the time and the steady inspiration to do it. Don't get used to it._

_Disclaimer: This is chapter ten. If you didn't get the message before now… You might want to get your head checked.]_

Edd wandered into Kevin's closet. He hadn't expected the neat rows of jeans and t-shirts, hung opposite of each other. He touched a leather jacket hung at the end of one row, the charcoal suit hung in the corner. Kevin was much more of a complex man than he had known. Pressed slacks and oil-stained, ripped jeans hung side-by-side, leather and a suit doing the same. What exactly had he gotten himself into?

He pulled a t-shirt off of its hanger and pulled it over his head. The smell of Kevin's detergent and the smell that could never be washed out of his clothes, something entirely Kevin, washed over Edd. His boxers were around his hips again, but he had no desire to wear slacks. He pulled the least stained pair of jeans he could find and slid them up over his legs. They hung precariously onto his hips. He found a belt and cinched them onto his waist. Kevin wasn't really that much larger than himself, but the couple of inches did make a difference. He glanced at himself in the mirror and decided that he needed more t-shirts in his wardrobe.

Or he could keep stealing Kevin's.

Smiling at the thought, he took a flannel and put it on over the shirt. He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling the five o'clock shadow. He hadn't had stubble on his face in years. He shrugged to himself, realizing that Kevin was already changing things about him.

He walked out to the kitchen to find Kevin, jeans slung low on his hips, shirtless, making pancakes. "I borrowed some clothes. I hope you don't mind," he said, padding into the kitchen to wrap his arms around Kevin from behind.

Kevin smiled. It was nice having someone to wake up next to and to cook breakfast for. He looked down to see his favourite flannel covering Edd's arms. He tugged on the sleeve. "No, I don't mind." Leaning back into Edd, he asked, "We going to pick Reade up after breakfast?" Edd nodded, the scruff on his cheek rubbing on Kevin's shoulder. The red-head purred. That was a nice feeling. Meant his dork hadn't the energy to shave.

"I thought we could just lie about at my house. I haven't had a day to just relax with you two in a while." His work had picked up recently and the research for the project had taken up a large portion of his time.

Kevin hummed his agreement and flipped the pancakes. "Don't I know it. The boys at the shop are probably about ready to strangle me. Not seeing you makes me twitchy and irritable."

Edd's face flushed at that. "Really?" At Kevin's affirmative, he pressed his face into the red-head's shoulder. "I haven't gotten much done in the way of research. I kept picking up my phone to call you." He chuckled at himself.

"Why didn't you?"

Edd thought about his answer. "I was afraid, honestly. I didn't want to bother you or accidentally blurt out that I think you need to be in my bed like I almost did yesterday."

Kevin loosened Edd's arms to turn and look at him. "Oh really now?"

Edd nodded, embarrassed beyond belief. "When you had August and Malachai hanging off of you and asked me if you could do anything." He covered his face. "Oh dear. I can't believe I just admitted that."

The mechanic chuckled and pulled his hand away and kissed him. "All you've got to do to get me in bed is ask, Edd."

_[Riverbank]_

Nazz opened the door moments after the bell rang with Reade on her hip. She wasn't surprised to see Kevin and Edd. When Edd hadn't returned the night before, she had assumed they were either knocking boots or Edd was murdering Kevin for being a dick. She took in their appearances and smirked. Edd looked exhausted and rumpled with dark marks on his neck, and Kevin looked stupidly happy.

"Long night? Didn't realize you were the flannel type, Double-D." Her tone was playful but she was relieved.

He blushed at the comment. "There are exceptions to everything, Nazz."

She laughed and moved back. "Come in. It's too cold." They followed her to the living room where August and Malachai promptly tackled Kevin's legs. He fell dramatically onto the couch and they crawled up onto his lap.

Edd took Reade who clung to his shirt. He nuzzled his son's dark hair and thanked Nazz.

"It's no problem. Did you enjoy your night?" She waggled her eyebrows, but she was honestly curious.

"Thoroughly," he said quietly. He was blushing, but he wasn't embarrassed. Just flushed at the memory of the night before. It was one of the better decisions of his life. Now he had Kevin. Regret didn't even cross his mind. "I am exhausted though. He is rather insatiable."

Nazz couldn't contain her laughter. "Oh dear. I know. I have heard all of the stories from high school. Mostly from both sides of it."

"You two talking about me?" Kevin called from the couch where August was trying to crawl up onto his head as King of the Mountain.

Nazz grinned. "Never, dear."

"Liar," he grumbled.

Edd chuckled and hitched Reade up on his hip, kissing the infant's dark hair. Big blue eyes turned up to him. "I missed you."

Reade gurgled and smiled. "Daddy."

Eddy came in, looking groggy. "Hey, Sockhead." He looked him over. "So you're finally his bitch."

Nazz gasped at Eddy's rudeness. Kevin was about to come across the room and beat the hell out of Eddy for old time's sake, but Edd held up a hand in his direction. He calmly handed Reade over to Nazz who stepped away, knowing that her husband had done wrong.

Edd wasn't usually the one to be physical when pissed off, usually choosing to out-wit whoever it was that had insulted him, but this was different. Eddy had insulted both himself and Kevin. Their history together should have been enough for Eddy to accept it without a comment such as that, but he had overstepped himself. Edd pushed Eddy through the swinging door to the kitchen, grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him up against the wall.

"What the fuck, Edd?!" Eddy was trying to pry Edd's hands out of his shirt.

"Shut up, Eddy." His voice was deadly calm. He wasn't out of control like he had been the night before. The shorter male knew that tone of voice and stopped struggling, watching Edd warily. "You will never ever refer to me as such again. Nor will you insult Kevin in such a way. You implied that he was in some way in charge of me. I do not take kindly to that, Eddy. As you well know. If you are going to insult me, please, go ahead, but do not ever insult Kevin because of my relationship with him." Edd's eyes narrowed. "Childhood names are fine. I know he calls you names too. That's something you do. I have accepted it. You will never call me or Kevin anything because of what is between us. Understood?"

"I got it, Sockhead. Let me go." When the brunette did as asked, the shorter male looked up at him. "I'm sorry, alright? Jeez. I'm cranky as fuck and my mouth got away from me."

Edd nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "Just make sure it never happens again. I won't be so nice next time."

Edd turned without another word and returned to the living room where Kevin was holding Reade. Nazz had sent the boys upstairs to clean their room so in case there was a fight, they wouldn't be involved. Edd took a breath and collected Reade's bag off of the table and his little hat. He turned to the blonde. "Thank you for taking care of him."

She waved a hand and glanced behind him to the kitchen door. He could only assume Eddy had come through it behind him. "Don't mention it. Like I said, he's a great kid. He only woke up once last night." She handed Kevin the green blanket folded on the back of the chair to swaddle him up in. "I'll be glad to look after him anytime."

Edd smiled at her as Kevin wrapped Reade up. "Thank you." When Kevin was finished, he put the hat over his son's thick hair while the redhead held the squirming bundle.

"Hold still, little man. We're going home," Kevin assured the little brunette. He watched Edd's face for a moment to make sure that the older Vincent was alright. When Edd nodded at him, he leaned over and kissed him, glaring at Eddy who was standing near the kitchen door. Edd was surprised by the public display of affection, but didn't back away from it.

Kev settled the little bundle against his shoulder and hugged Nazz before he took Edd's fingers and headed out the door. He put Reade into his carseat and got into the passenger seat. Edd was hanging onto the wheel with both hands, tears streaming down his face. The red-head turned Edd to face him and took his face into his hands. "Hey..." He wiped Edd's tears away. "Edd, it's okay." He pulled the other to him and cradled the brunette. "It's alright, Edd. Let it go."

The brunette sobbed. "Of all people, I expected him to be supportive. He told me it was okay, yesterday, Kevin."

Kevin squeezed Edd, kissing his hair. "Shhh. Edd, it's alright. I think he learned his lesson on that one. You scared the crap out of me when you pushed him through the door like that. I thought you were going to bust him up before I could get to him. He came out looking like he'd never had you talk to him that way before." He kissed Edd's temple. "I'm pretty sure it won't ever happen again."

Edd sniffled. "That's because I have never spoken to him like that. Very rarely do I take a stand against them. I never have to. We're usually all on the same page. We've been friends for so long that I didn't think it would be necessary to defend how I feel about you." He paused and pulled away. "Kevin, I threatened my best friend." His crystal clear eyes were troubled with his actions.

Kevin's brows came down over his eyes. "Edd, you're allowed to do that. He insulted you. It's okay to be offended and take action. Didn't anyone ever tell you that?" When Edd shook his head, he sighed. "That's why I beat the crap out of him when we were kids. I took offense and I did something about it. I probably wouldn't beat him within an inch of his life now, but I would definitely rough him up."

Edd digested that information and wiped his face. "Thank you, Kevin." He leaned forward and pressed their mouths together.

Kevin held Edd's mouth to his for a long moment before letting him go. "It's alright, Edd." He smiled. "Let's get that squirmy son of yours home."

Edd laughed and wiped his face one last time. "Yes, lets." He put the car in gear and drove to his own home.

_[Refraction]_

Six months passed before Edd agreed to meet Kevin's mother. The red-head had been assuring Edd that she wasn't scary and wouldn't eat him. But he hadn't even told her he was gay yet, so he wasn't sure how that was going to go over.

The morning before they were to meet his mother for lunch, he pulled up in front of Edd's house, but his motorcycle was absent. In its place was his latest project. Dark green, it looked like any other Charger until you looked at the side-panels. Celtic knots formed the pattern from a tapestry he had seen years before. It was perfect because he had taken a photo of it and had replicated it to the best of his considerable ability with an airbrush. No one passing by would question his heritage. He chuckled and wondered what Edd would think of it.

Edd opened the door before he could even take his shoes off. His dark brows were low over his eyes. "Whose car are you driving, Kevin?" He had never seen the car. Kevin had taken it straight from the dealership to the shop to be painted.

The red-head chuckled. "Mine." He put his foot back into his boot. "Come on. Let me show her to you." He pulled Edd out of the house and waited for the other to put his shoes on.

"Yours, but... You never mentioned wanting to get a car. I thought you loved your motorcycle." Edd was confused and concerned. Kevin would never willingly give up his bike.

"I do love it. I didn't get rid of it, but I got tired of getting wet all the time when it randomly stormed and I wanted something that I could drive that would be safe for Reade." Reade had really been his motivation for the whole thing, but he wasn't going to tell Edd that.

He pulled Edd down the stairs and showed off his newest conquest. "I painted it myself."

Edd leaned down and touched the side, fingers tracing a convoluted line. "Kevin, this is lovely. I didn't know you could do things like this." He stood and looked over with admiration. "Where did you get the idea?"

The red-head scratched the back of his neck. "My Ma, she took me to a castle in Ireland once and we took loads of pictures. It was a tapestry and I always wanted something with the pattern on it. A long time ago, it was my family's battle standard."

Edd's eyes were wide. "Kevin, that's fascinating." He looked at the artistry again with a newfound respect. He touched it again. His father's mind came into play. "Is it safe?"

Kevin chuckled. He should have known that would be the first question to come to Edd's mind. "Yes. It got a 9.6 safety rating. That was the first thing I checked. If it hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten it."

Edd straightened and went to hug Kevin. The red-head wrapped his arms around the brunette and smiled. "Thank you for thinking of us."

Kevin chuckled. "When am I not thinking of you?"

Edd laughed. "I wouldn't know, Kevin, but I have a feeling it isn't as often as some would think."

"You're probably right." Kevin nodded toward the house. "The hellion up yet?"

Edd snorted. "He's already thrown a lion at my head this morning. He's going to be a good pitcher one day, apparently."

Kevin chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

Reade had grown rambunctious in the last months. The applesauce had been only the beginning. Blocks and stuffed animals had become the favoured tossing items as of late.

When they returned to the house, Reade was against the glass door in a shirt and diaper with his hands pressed up against it. Kevin smiled and pulled off his boots again while Edd shooed the boy from the door so he could open it. Kevin walked in after Edd and picked him up. He laughed. "Where are his shorts?"

Edd rolled his eyes and threw his hands up. "Your guess is as good as mine." He shook his head. "I walked away for two minutes to get his bag and poof they were gone."

He looked at the grinning child in his arms. "You are absolutely rotten, child. I swear." He looked at Edd. "I'll see if I can find them." He pressed his mouth to Edd's. "Go finish getting dressed. Ma's cooking for us. And she doesn't tolerate tardiness. She tries to chase me with her rolling pin when I am late." He laughed. "You'll get along great."

Edd chuckled at the image. "I'm sure." He kissed the other again, lingering over Kevin's lips.

When he pulled away, Kevin's lids were low over his eyes, gold starbursts around his pupils had expanded. "Do that again," he ordered. He pulled Edd against him and kissed him slowly. It had been nearly a week since the last time they had any alone time, and he was feeling it.

The brunette smiled against Kevin's mouth, but melted against him when Kevin nipped his lip. He groaned and slipped his hand around to the back of Kevin's neck, pressing up against the mechanic.

Reade let out a squeak at being ignored and Edd pulled away from him slightly, looking up at him with eyes gone dark with lust. Kevin pulled him in for another quick kiss then spun him, popping him on the ass. Edd jumped and glared. Kevin just grinned at him. "Love you. Go get dressed or my mother is going to kill both of us."

Edd stuck his tongue out at him. "Love you too." He left to go finish dressing and Kevin turned to go to the living room to try and find the brat's shorts.

_[Rush]_

Catherine Barr was a patient woman when it came to everything but her son. Kevin had been a constant barrage of fights and girls parading through her house until he'd finally moved out. He had also been the one person she loved more than anything in the entire world. He was her only son and he was the epitome of everything she loved in the world. Until he was late.

When he finally showed up, ten minutes late, she wasn't surprised to see that he had someone with him. He had told her that he wanted her to meet someone. The surprise was that that someone was a very attractive male in his twenties. With a baby.

Kevin was holding Reade as they walked into her house. Edd was slightly behind him. "Hey, Ma."

She stood from where she had been sitting in the living room. "You're late. Again. I swear... What am I going to do with you, Bronson Kevin Barr." The Irish to her voice that had been hammered out into a mellow lilt from the many years of living in Canada, but it was still there and she still sounded like Mrs. Weasley when she was pissed off.

He just grinned at her. "Love me?" It was his usual answer and one usually rewarded with a swat to the back of the head when he was sitting down. She was almost a foot shorter than him and couldn't reach him while he was standing.

She rolled her eyes and held her hands out for Reade. "And who do we have here?"

Kevin grinned. "This is Reade." He handed him over. He pulled Edd out from behind him. "And this is Eddward. Double-D. From when we were kids. You never actually met him."

Edd looked embarrassed but held out a hand. "Hello, Mrs. Barr. It's very nice to meet you."

She took the hand and pulled the tall engineer into a one-armed hug. "It's Ma and it's nice to meet you too, Eddward." She smiled up at him.

He offered an awkward smile and stepped slightly back.

Kevin took up the silence. "He's not really very touchy, Ma. Take it easy on him."

She nodded. "Alright then. Come on, you lot. Food's getting cold."

When she turned to go, Reade in tow, Kevin took Edd's fingers and squeezed them. He leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It will be fine. Reade is the key to her heart as much as he was mine. I promise." Edd nodded silently, uncomfortable. Kevin led him into the dining room when he remembered Reade's high chair in the car. He went back out to get it, returning shortly.

Kevin's mother thanked the gods for the harvest that put food on their table and started putting food on their plates. Edd thanked her and ate in silence while Catherine asked Kevin how everything at the shop was going. After she had rung all of the information she wanted from her son, she turned her hazel eyes on Edd. "So, Eddward, I have heard the occasional thing about you, but why don't you tell me about yourself."

Edd sat his fork down and wiped his mouth. His cheeks pinked but he spoke steadily. "I'm a chemical engineer. I was going to work at Cal Tech as an engineer, but Reade came unexpectedly. And I've taken on a job at the high school as the chemistry teacher until he gets older. I start this fall. I've taken the last year to further my own personal research."

Catherine nodded. "That's rather unexpected. Turning down a big job like that to be a high school teacher."

Edd nodded but shrugged. "Reade is more important that the money I could be making. And I can't be away from him for the long shifts in the lab like some people can. It's hard enough to sit at my computer for an hour."

She patted his hand where it sat on the table. "I said unexpected, dear. Not bad. I respect you for wanting to spend more time with him." She stood. "Who's for desert?"

Kevin grinned. "You know I am." He looked at Edd. "Best strawberry cheesecake ever."

The brunette nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes, please."

Catherine rose to go get the cake and a knife to cut it with.

Kevin looked at him across the table, one hand being tugged on by Reade. "You alright?" he asked quietly.

Edd nodded. "I am just not accustomed to people asking about myself. She seems like a very nice woman."

Kevin smiled. "Yeah. She's put up with a lot of my shit over the years." She called his name from the kitchen and he untangled himself from Reade's playful hands. "I'll be right back." He stood and went through the swinging door to see what she wanted.

The little red-headed woman was leaning against the counter, arms over her chest. She looked deep in thought. He let the door close behind him. He waited. He knew that look. She had something that she wanted to say. She looked up at him after a moment. Crooking a finger at him, she demanded that he come closer. Concerned about his own well-being, he did so slowly. He wasn't entirely sure what he'd done wrong.

She pulled him down by the front of his shirt until he was level with her. "Bronson Kevin Barr, is that boy in there my grandson?"

His eyes widened. "Technically, no."

Her Irish lilt broke out when next she spoke. "Kevin, don' you lie to me. I see the way ya look at tha' boy in there. I've never seen you ac' like that around a man. You don't bring people over here ta meet yer Ma anymore. I haven't seen you look at anyone like tha' ever. Now, tell me wha's goin' on before I club ya with me pin." She picked up her rolling pin for emphasis.

Kevin held up his hands in supplication. "Okay. Calm down and put the pin down." He waited until she put it down and let go of his shirt. "You're right, Ma. I brought Edd here because I wanted to tell you that we're together." He took a deep breath and lowered the boom. "Ma, I'm in love with him."

She raised a brow at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Ye are, are ye?" She thought for a moment. "At least I got one grandbaby out of the kit and kaboodle," she said shrugging.

He was confused for a moment before it finally clicked. "You're not mad?"

She reached up and pulled him down by his ears, taking his hat off before kissing his forehead. "You're my son and as long as I get at least one baby to coddle out of this whole shebang, I am more than happy." Gently, Catherine patted his cheek and returned his hat. "I love you, Kevin. You know that. I just want you to be happy."

He pulled his mother into a tight hug. "I love you too, Ma. Thank you." He was so relieved that it had almost been a non-event with her. It had been easy as breathing. He knew bringing Reade was a good idea.

They got the coffee and the cake and carried it out. Edd looked at Kevin in concern. They had been gone for almost fifteen minutes. He had been busy feeding Reade, but he was still curious.

Kevin smiled. "I told her." He poured their coffee.

Edd's eyes flared in panic as he looked at Catherine, but she came around the table and hugged him again. "Welcome to the family, dear."

Edd hugged her back this time. "Th-thank you." Edd hadn't expected to be welcomed so warmly. He had expected, at best, cold detachment. This was wonderful. Catherine smiled at him and finally let him go, giving him a slice of strawberry cheesecake on a small saucer. He put some into his mouth and had to cover his mouth to stifle his moan.

Kevin saw and laughed. "I told you so."

Conversation broke down into a light, get-to-know-you flow. Edd gave Reade a little of his slice. The baby giggled and made a grabbing motion toward the rest of Edd's. He laughed and stuck his tongue out at him. Kevin watched Edd with a stupid smile on his face and Catherine watched her son's smile grow softer. She had never seen him look like that.

He was a hard person by nature. He worked hard, played hard, drank hard. He was a Barr. He never short-changed himself on living life. But this was something new. It was soft in a way she had never seen Kevin treat anything or anyone. Her son really was in love with the other man and she couldn't bring herself to even question it. If Kevin saw something special in the brunette sitting at her table, then she would attempt to as well.

_[D: Alrighty. I like this chapter. Especially the first part. I hope you did too. Love you guys, let me know what you thought. 3]_


	11. What Would Nikola Tesla Do?

_[D: So the idea for the chapter came to me when I was fiddle dicking around on Youtube and remembered that Tesla Coils are cool as fuck when they play music with them. And I thought to myself, "Edd and Kev need to go on a fucking date." You will see how I came to that conclusion._

_Also, in Kevin's apartment, the living room and kitchen are open to one another and there is a counter in between. His room and the bathroom are separated with a door. Just to help you visualize. _

_On a fucking hilarious note, according to google documents, "Sexcipade" is a real word. _

_So, without further ado. Here it is._

_Disclaimer: Blarg. Seriously? This is chapter eleven and I'm not a millionaire. ]_

"Kevin, are you sure this is safe?" Edd was sitting behind him, straddling his bike, his inner thighs pressed to Kevin's hips, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. They hadn't even moved yet.

The red-head chuckled. "Yes, Edd. I've been riding it for almost ten years now." He rubbed a thumb over Edd's hands that were clutching at his jacket. "Relax. Trust me and lean with me. Okay?" He hadn't put his helmet on yet, so he turned his head to look back at Edd. Scared blue eyes looked back from under the visor of the helmet he was already wearing. "I promise I'll go slowly. Okay?"

Edd nodded slightly. "Okay." He didn't ease his grip on Kevin's waist, but he leaned forward and pressed his chest to Kevin's back. "I trust you, Kevin."

Kevin let out the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding and turned back to the handlebars, pulling on his helmet. He opened the visor so he could move his bangs out of the way, putting it back down once he was done. "Edd, let go of me so I can start it, then you can try and squeeze me to death." Edd sheepishly complied and Kevin stood to slam his foot down to kick start the bike. He sat back down and Edd returned his hands to the leather of Kev's jacket, admittedly less tightly than before. The red-head backed the bike carefully out of the driveway, waving to Edd's mother whom was on the porch holding Reade.

He silently thanked her again for watching the boy. He and Edd needed alone time. They hadn't had any in a few weeks. He patted Edd's hand again before he took off slowly down the road. Edd's arms tightened around him and he smiled as he headed toward the city. He had planned this out carefully. He wanted to go when Edd would be most interested. He had researched it and found the best time to go for the right exhibit to be there. Edd had no idea what he had planned, but he'd agreed anyway because Kevin had promised that there would be learning involved.

Pulling into the parking garage of the science museum some half-hour later, he let Edd get off first before kicking out the stand. He looked over at Edd as he took off his helmet. The brunette was grinning. "That was quite enjoyable, Kevin."

Kevin smiled. "Glad you enjoyed it." His bike was his pride and joy. Sharing that with Edd was definitely a perk.

Edd looked around them to the buildings he could see through the gaps between the ceiling and low wall. His eyes widened when he saw the museum. He looked back at Kevin. "You brought me to the museum?"

The mechanic got off and nodded, pulling his helmet off. "Yeah. Is that bad?" He hoped not. He had wanted to enjoy it with Edd's running commentary on the exhibits.

Edd strode over to him and threw his arms around Kevin's neck, laughing. "Thank you!"

Kevin relaxed and chuckled, hugging Edd back. "I'm glad you're pleased."

The engineer pulled back and pressed his mouth to Kevin's. "I am very pleased. What made you think of the museum for a date?"

Kevin shrugged, his arms around Edd's waist. "You haven't just gotten out to go do something in a while. And you're a nerd, so I figured the museum would be right up your alley." He grinned at him to let him know he was just joking.

Edd chuckled and kissed him again. "You would be correct." He looked over at the front of the museum. "It is nice to just go out to enjoy myself. I haven't done it since New York and even then, I couldn't stay away for too long."

Kevin's smile softened. "I know, Edd. That's why I didn't plan a trip. I just wanted to get you out of your office for the day."

Edd tugged gently on Kevin's ponytail. "Thank you."

Kevin purred and kissed him again. "Be careful. They always said not to tug on Superman's cape." His tone implied that he had more planned for later.

The raven gave him a cheeky grin and pulled a little harder. "What if I want to tangle with Superman?"

Kevin laughed. "Come on. There's a certain exhibit I want to get to." He kissed him once more and attached their helmets to the bike before taking Edd's hand and leading him toward the museum.

Edd gave a running commentary, as predicted. He seemed to be enjoying educating Kevin and Kevin was enjoying soaking up all of the information Edd was giving him about everything. They held hands as they wandered through the exhibits, Kevin's fingers occasionally slipping into Edd's back pocket as they walked. The brunette would always jump slightly and blush but never tell the redhead to remove his hand.

Eventually, they came to an auditorium of sorts. It was built specifically for this exhibit, which was permanent. They took seats and earplugs which were provided. Kevin hadn't told Edd what this was for. Edd just looked concerned that they needed earplugs. Kevin tore open his earplugs and put them in his ears while the lights were still up.

Edd did the same and looked over at his boyfriend. "What is this, Kevin?" he asked rather loudly due to the muffle from the plugs.

Kevin held a finger up in front of his mouth as the lights began to dim as the last stragglers settled into their seats. A curtain rolled up outside of a concrete enclosure and men sitting at a table with boxes and all forms of electronics set up on it.

Edd's eyes widened and he sat forward, grabbing Kevin's arm where it rested on the armrest. "Tesla..." He looked like he'd just gotten a Christmas present a day early. His whole face was lit up.

Kevin sat back in his chair and just watched Edd's face. It had been worth it, just that expression. Very rarely did Edd let down his calm expression for anything but Reade, and Kevin discovered how to do it without fucking the brunette into letting it down. As much as he enjoyed that method, he really did like seeing Edd get excited about science.

Moments after the lights went down, a loud humming started from the concrete enclosure. Lightning arced off of one of the coils with a thunderous buzzing. The other arced to touch it, purple branches splintered off from the main bolts. Soon, the men at the table had the lightning moving in sequences that produced something akin to music. Kevin chuckled when he recognized the theme from Ghostbusters. He hadn't known they could actually make music with them. He'd just watched the video on the website that described what Tesla Coils were and gave a brief history of Nikola Tesla. He'd been sold when it said lightning inside.

After a couple more songs, the lights went up and the men behind the table stood up and and turned around toward the crowd to bow to a round of applause. Edd stood up to clap and Kevin followed suit as did the rest of the crowd.

A few moments later, they walked out of the theatre and took their earplugs out. Edd tackled Kevin with a hug and the red head lifted him and spun him around while the brunette laughed. "Oh, Kevin, that was wonderful. Thank you!"

The mechanic sat him down but didn't let him go. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said with a smile.

Edd pressed his mouth to Kevin's briefly and pulled away. "I love you."

Kevin's smile widened. "Love you too, Edd. You want to go grab a bite to eat?"

Edd nodded and they left the museum holding hands.

[Opal]

After an early dinner at Edd's favourite Italian restaurant and three hours of talking and playing footsie under the table, they tumbled into Kevin's apartment after Edd pinned Kevin to the door while he was trying to unlock it. He attacked Kevin's neck from behind and Kevin got too distracted to properly shove the key into the lock. Edd smiled against Kevin's neck and guided Kevin's hand to the lock, sliding the key in and turning it so they could push into the room.

The red-head stumbled forward at the unexpected lack of door to hold him up but Edd caught him around the waist to keep him from tripping. He pulled the mechanic back against him and kicked the door closed. Kevin leaned back against Edd whom still had his arm around the red-head. He let Edd nuzzle him, laying his hand over Edd's on his stomach.

The brunette purred into his ear, "I want to thank you for today."

Kevin's breath caught in his throat at Edd's tone. Something was different about the brunette's demeanor. "Oh?" he asked quietly.

Edd smiled against Kevin's neck. "Yes. It's only proper after such a lovely afternoon." His hand drifted down to play with the top of Kevin's jeans, lifting his shirt to trace over the skin just above his waistband. Kev's breathing stopped when Edd's fingers slipped beneath his waistband and he was turned around to face the brunet. Edd was smiling at him, but his features had shifted slightly, a little firmer around his eyes. Edd's hand sank lower and touched his cock, which was quickly becoming hard.

Kevin's head fell forward to rest against Edd's. The red-head was usually the one to instigate their more intimate moments, so to have Edd stick his hand down his pants was new. He reached between them and undid his own pants, the waistband too tight with Edd's arm occupying space in it.

Edd smiled and nipped his lip as he kissed him. Kev groaned into his mouth when he tightened his hand around his cock. He stroked him to get him hard faster. Edd had decided to give himself charge over this particular sexcipade. He kept stroking Kevin as he started to walk him backwards. He had an idea that he hoped would please Kevin.

Kev let himself be walked backwards, Edd's hand distracting him from objecting to much of anything. His ass hit the counter that divided the kitchen and the living room. Edd smiled at him and took his hand away from his cock before pulling his pants down. Kev kicked them off just so he wouldn't trip over them.

The brunet showed that he wasn't a complete nerd and picked Kevin up, depositing him on the counter before pulling the red-head's shirt over his head. Kevin's eyes widened when he was lifted. He wasn't used to that shit anymore. Before he could ask Edd what he was doing, the brunette kissed him hard and turned away to go to his room, telling him to stay where he was over his shoulder. Kevin was slightly dumbfounded. Edd had never acted like this.

Edd went into Kevin's bedroom and retrieved the bottle of lube the other kept in his bedside table. He slid it into his pocket and undid his shirt as he walked back to Kevin.

Usually, he would worry about the problem of sanitation with Kevin's ass on the counter, but they could take care of that later. He wouldn't be like that for long anyway.

He took his shirt the rest of the way off, still looking at the red-head who was waiting on him and dropped it over the back of a chair. He saw Kevin's eyes dilate and undid his belt. The red-head looked unsure of what was going on. He got close and stood between Kevin's legs, pulling Kevin into a hard kiss. Kev groaned quietly, holding onto Edd's waist.

Kevin didn't really know what was going on or why Edd was acting the way he was, but he was willing to see where this would go. He was naked so it couldn't be that bad and Edd was well on his way to being the same.

The mechanic slipped his fingers into the waistband of Edd's pants and unbuttoned them. He pulled them down with Edd doing a little shimmy to help them fall onto the floor. Edd stepped out of the bundle on the floor and kicked them away. He pulled away from the red-head's mouth and started trailing kisses down his jawline and following his jugular. He bit and suckled the flesh there, his teeth grazing over the artery and eliciting a groan from deep within Kevin. He left a deep red mark there and ran the flat tongue over it a few times.

Edd continued on his way down, leaving butterfly kisses in his path. He reached one nipple and flicked his tongue on the little nub, gaining a soft noise of surprise from his lover. Kevin's fingers slid into his hair and his head fell back. Edd nibbled on it before sucking on the sensitive flesh. He moaned and his fingers tightened in raven locks. "Oh my god..."

Edd hummed and played with the other one with his fingers. He hadn't done this in a while. Hell, he hadn't had sex with a man in a long time. Helena had hated it... He shoved thoughts of her away and focused on Kevin and the noises he was making. He had Kevin panting before he decided to move on, trailing nips and sucks down over the man's sunkissed stomach muscles to his happy trail. He knelt in front of Kevin so he wasn't so awkward and nuzzled the auburn trail that led down to Kevin's hard member.

Kevin finally figured out what Edd was going to do. He tilted the brunette's face up to look at him. "Edd, you don't have to do that." He didn't want to tell the other that he hadn't ever really cared for it.

Edd lowered his head and nuzzled Kevin's thigh. "I want to. You can tell me to stop if you don't like it."

Kevin's face flushed. It always threw him with how well Edd knew him. He nodded slowly and massaged his fingers through Edd's hair. "Okay..." He still wasn't too sure about this. But if anyone could make him like receiving head it would be the man between his thighs.

Edd smiled up at him, revealing the gap that Kevin had grown to adore. He refocused his attention lower and wrapped his hand around Kevin's cock. He leaned forward and pressed the flat of his tongue to the tip of Kevin's cock. The red-head's breath stuttered in his throat at the feeling of the softness of Edd's tongue against him. He watched Edd as the brunette traced his tongue around the head of his cock. He groaned quietly. Edd looked so intent on what he was doing.

The engineer was enjoying the taste of Kevin on his tongue. He decided that he wanted more and stroked the red-head's cock as he took the head into his mouth to suck on it. Kevin's eyes widened slightly and he moaned. Edd smiled slightly around him and let his mouth slide down further over the mechanic's member.

Kevin moaned and fell back against the cold marble of the counter. His hands tightened slightly in Edd's hair. This was different than anything he'd ever felt with the females who'd done it to him before. Edd's mouth was firmer around him. The brunette wasn't afraid that he was going to hurt him and he knew just the right amount of pressure to put on the vein on the underside of Kev's cock. "Fucking hell, Edd."

Edd hummed around him in agreement and the red-head almost came apart. His hands tightened almost painfully in Edd's hair and his back arched. "Fucking Christ." The brunette's eyes widened at Kevin's reaction and the unexpected pain at his scalp but didn't pull away. He let his mouth slide further down and then back up. He didn't have Kevin's ability to neglect his gag reflex and Kevin was slightly bigger than him, but he could do this well. He hummed around him again and got almost the same reaction. He took a deep breath through his nose and started to hum a song that he knew all the way through as he bobbed his head.

Kevin whimpered and moaned. There wasn't much else he could do. He held onto Edd for dear life in fear that the other would stop. This was amazing. He had been sadly mistaken when he thought he didn't like this. He just hadn't liked it when the girls he'd dated had done it.

Edd's slender fingers circled the bottom of Kevin's cock, stroking what he couldn't fit into his mouth as he bobbed his head. He'd gotten used to Kevin pulling on his hair. It was starting to feel good. The taste of Kevin's pre-cum burned on the back of his throat and he moaned. Something he hadn't counted on was liking the taste of the red-head. He knew Kevin loved doing this for him but he hadn't understood why until now.

The vibrations and Edd's constant attention were driving him toward his orgasm. His stomach was tight and his breathing was coming in pants. He warned the other of his impending orgasm before coming into Edd's mouth on a moan. Edd held his hips down so he wouldn't choke and swallowed, stroking Kevin slowly a few more times to help him ride his orgasm to completion. He pulled his mouth away and licked his lip where some had slipped past. Kevin's taste was almost addictive.

Kevin was a panting mess as he laid there on the counter. He couldn't even lift his head just yet to look at Edd. His fingers relaxed in Edd's hair and he stroked them through the raven locks. Edd rose and kissed his way up Kev's body. The red-head's muscles twitched at the attention after such an orgasm. The brunette bit down gently on Kev's neck over his artery where he knew the other was sensitive and Kevin's arms slid around his shoulders as he groaned quietly. He felt wanton at the moment, not really caring that Edd was on top of him.

The engineer smiled against Kevin's neck at the way he was acting. This was sort of the reaction he had hoped for. He fitted himself between Kevin's legs and moved his mouth up to kiss him, nipping his lip and sliding his tongue between the redhead's soft lips. Kevin made a noise in his throat and kissed him back. He reached behind Kevin's head and lifted it, still kissing him and tugged the auburn headed male's hair out of its ponytail. He sighed into the brunette's mouth in relief at having the knot at the base of his skull removed.

Edd pulled away slowly, pressing small kisses to Kevin's mouth. He looked down at heavily lidded hazel eyes, finding every speck of gold that stood out in the red-head's lust. "Kevin, I want to ask something." He hummed in his throat to tell Edd to go ahead and ask whatever it was. Edd was a little nervous about asking. "Kevin, I would like to... If you would permit me..." He grimaced before blurting it out. "Would you allow me to love your body the way you do mine?"

Kevin looked at him for a long moment in an orgasm-induced haze before it registered just what Edd was asking. He looked up at his lover and tried to clear his head. The brunette looked honest in his inquiry, like he had thought about it a lot.

When Kevin remained silent he said, "I will stop if you don't wish to go any further. I don't want to make you uncomfortable." He began to pull away, slightly disappointed, but Kevin's arms around his shoulders held him in place.

"Edd, shut up for a second." Kevin moved and cupped his face. "You want to?" Edd nodded slowly, his face between Kevin's palms. Kevin mulled it over for a moment before leaning up to kiss Edd. "I'll give it a shot. I can't know unless we try, right?"

Edd smiled and pressed his face against Kevin's neck. "I love you."

Kevin chuckled and ran his fingers through Edd's hair. "Love you too, dork."

Edd nipped his shoulder hard in retaliation for the name calling.

The red-head groaned and Edd lapped at it before straightening and pulled Kevin up to stand in front of him. Kevin was a little nervous about this but he knew Edd wouldn't hurt him. Edd pulled Kevin down slightly and kissed him, his thumbs pressing into the red-head's hipbones to both soothe and arouse. Kev leaned his forehead against Edd and visibly relaxed against him.

When Edd thought he was comfortable enough he turned Kevin away from him and kissed his shoulders, spending time on his freckles. His hands slid to the flat of Kevin's stomach and traced nonsense patterns onto the muscles. He nibbled lightly on the red-head's shoulder before moving his hands to Kevin's back to push him gently down to lean over the counter.

The red-head flushed and pressed his forehead against the counter. He was embarrassed by this but he knew he shouldn't care. It was Edd. He'd done this very same thing to the brunet before. He bit his lip and tried to grin and bear it.

Edd kissed the scar at the base of Kevin's spine and he felt Kevin tense briefly before relaxing. He used the tube he'd gone to retrieve and prepared the auburn haired male. The bigger male tried not to move away from Edd's hand and grimaced at the feeling. It was just strange and he was going to tell Edd to stop before the brunet touched something with his fingers as he wiggled them. He let out a gasp as his eyes widened. "Fuck."

The engineer bit his lip at the sounds Kevin was making. He smiled slightly when Kevin cursed. He had unintentionally found the little bundle of nerves hidden within the red-head. He kissed the small of Kevin's back and stroked that spot causing the other to moan loudly. Kevin grabbed onto the opposite edge of the counter and arched his hips back against Edd's hand. "Oh my god..." He understood why Edd liked this. His vision blurred every time Edd touched that bundle of nerves.

Edd took advantage of Kevin's distraction with the pleasure to add another finger, rocking them in and out of the red-head to help him accommodate. Kevin was too preoccupied with Edd's fingers on his prostate to care much. The brunet kissed Kevin's back before pulling his hand away. Kevin whined at the loss of contact and Edd petted his back as he reached for the lube. "Hang on, baby."

Kevin relaxed against the counter, vaguely remembering that something was supposed to come after that. Edd smiled as he prepared himself before slowly pushing into the red-head. Kevin held onto the counter and grimaced as Edd penetrated him. He pressed his forehead to the counter and breathed through his nose, trying to get through it.

Edd rubbed his back and hips, focusing more on Kevin than his own pleasure. Though, the mechanic was far tighter than he had imagined. He pushed all the way in and held still, letting Kevin adjust as he soothed him with kisses on his shoulders and back.

The mechanic relaxed against the slight burn and accepted the kisses Edd was placing on his back. He let go of the counter with one hand and moved it down to cover Edd's on his hip. He couldn't quite use his voice so he nodded his head to tell Edd that he could move as he squeezed the other's hand. Kevin groaned in mild pain when Edd pulled back slightly and then rolled his hips back in.

The brunet above him moaned quietly at the feeling, his hands tightening on Kevin's hips and his forehead pressed against Kevin's shoulder. Kevin bit his lip. He knew it was going to get better. He just had to hang on. Edd rolled his hips again, nestling his feet between Kevin's spread one's to offer himself some stability and Kevin a little more comfort. He nipped the other's shoulder as he rolled his hips, creating greater friction between them.

Kev grimaced before his face relaxed and he let out a groan. _Oh. That was nice. _

Edd took that as his cue to move a little faster, rocking out a little further before moving back in. He moaned as he held onto Kevin. Between the tightness of the red-head and the heat of his body, Edd was in heaven. He was panting from the effort of going slowly but he kept his hips in check. The first time was always the hardest.

After long moments of Edd slowly rocking against Kevin's hips, the red-head began to move with him. He moaned quietly at the feeling of them moving together. This was different from when he topped Edd. Edd was going slow when he had completely lost control. Their temperaments showed in the way they made love.

Edd wrapped his arms around Kevin's waist and picked up his pace a little before sliding his hand down to stroke Kevin's member. The red-head moaned unashamedly and rolled his hips with Edd's and thrust into his hand. The engineer was surprised with how Kevin was reacting to him as the rode to their high together. He would have expected Kevin to be more reserved to this but the mechanic was being verbose and reacting to him.

Kevin was torn between which felt better, the hand on his cock or the cock inside of him. He had been surprised that he enjoyed this, but with Edd, it shouldn't have really been a shock. He wanted to turn around so he could see Edd's face but he didn't want the other to stop long enough to switch positions. He put his hand on top of Edd's on his stomach and held himself up with an elbow on the counter. His breath was coming in pants as he pushed back against Edd.

The brunet squeezed Kevin's waist as he rolled his hips a little faster. His orgasm was winding his spine tight. "Kevin..." He couldn't make his mouth express anything besides the red-head's name.

Kevin nodded. "Me too." His hand tightened over Edd's and laced their fingers together. Edd's other hand stroked him faster, making the the red-head come on a cry. Kevin's orgasm sent his lover over the edge with him. The shuddered together and slumped against the counter.

Kevin pillowed his face on his arm and panted, still holding Edd's hand. Edd had let go of Kevin's cock and had wrapped his arm back around the red-head, burying his face in Kevin's hair. Edd's face was rosy from his exertions but he was smiling slightly and pressed a kissed to Kevin's shoulder.

A smile touched Kevin's mouth as he said, "That was definitely a successful experiment, Professor."

Edd laughed against his shoulder before pulling out. "I would agree with you." He kissed Kevin's shoulder and straightened slowly, pulling Kev up with him.

The red-head leaned back on him heavily. "Two in such a short amount of time seems to have gotten to me, Edd. I'm lightheaded."

Edd grew concerned and his grip around Kevin's waist tightened. "Are you alright, Kevin?"

Kevin chuckled. "Just need to lie down. I'll be fine." He waddle walked toward his room with Edd's arms still around his waist, causing the brunet to laugh against his shoulder.

"You, Mr. Barr, are rather ridiculous."

Kevin just smiled and toppled them onto his bed. "You love me though." He rolled over in Edd's arms and kissed him gently. "And I love you. I vote for repeated experiments."

Edd's gap made an appearance and he kissed Kevin again. "I am most pleased to hear that." He pulled Kevin closer and snuggled him. "Quick nap before we go back to my house to relieve my mother of Reade watching duty?"

Kevin was already halfway there. "Sounds awesome." He pressed his face against Edd's chest and nuzzled him. "Love you," he said as he squeezed Edd's waist.

Edd smiled and ran his fingers through Kevin's hair. "I love you too, Kevin." He sighed, content, and settled down for a nap.

_[Hero: Dear fucking god. There it is. Fucking finally. It's not spectacular, nor am I happy, but there it is. I hope you enjoyed it and I just want to tell you that I think every single one of you is fucking amazing and I don't deserve you. Thank you so much for waiting on my slow ass.]_


	12. Santa Monica

Chapter Twelve - Affaire de Coeur

[Hero: I can't thank you all enough. This is it. It's finished. The epilogue is already typed and edited so it's just waiting on me. I love all of you. Thank you.

Disclaimer: We know, after all this time, that I don't own these babies.]

A year had passed since Edd had been welcomed by his mother to the family. Reade was growing quickly. And they were on their way to relaxing for a week. But first, he had to get Edd into the car.

"Come on, Edd! You've been fidgeting for half an hour. If we forgot something, we can always buy it there. We're going to miss our flight," Kevin called from the driveway. He was leaning on the door of his car and was highly amused at Edd's behaviour.

He heard a call that he would be right there and chuckled before leaning down and checking on Reade who was already strapped in his seat. The boy looked up at him with big blue eyes. He was looking more like Edd with every passing day. There were bags and essentials tucked away in suitcases in the back. His diaper bag was next to him on the seat. He was almost potty trained, but they thought it would be easier on the flight to put him in a Pull-up just in case. Kevin smiled at him and made a face that made Reade giggle.

Edd finally came out of the house with a messenger bag over his shoulder and his camera case. "I didn't want to forget this for our first vacation together. I want to take all the pictures I can."

The red-head smiled at him. "Alright, but we really have to go now. No more running into the house." He took Edd's bags from him and set them on the seat next to Reade, giving the boy a kiss when he made a kissy face. Edd got in and watched them as Kevin checked the carseat one more time before closing the door and getting behind the wheel. Edd tugged on the sleeve of his shirt making him look over to see him making a kissy face too. He laughed before leaning over to kiss Edd deeply. He pulled away slowly to see Edd's face was slightly flushed and his lids were low. Kev smiled at him and leaned forward to nip his lip. "I promise that the first thing I'll do when we get there is take care of you. Okay?"

The red on Edd's cheeks deepened as he groaned. "Oh, Kevin, you don't have to do that."

Kevin smirked. "True, but you know I want to." He enjoyed servicing Edd more than he let on, but Edd knew. He did it every chance he got. Ever since the first time, he'd been hooked.

Edd bit his lip but nodded, knowing better than to argue with Kevin. The red-head smiled and leaned over to kiss him again before putting the car into gear and headed for the airport nearly an hour away in Vancouver.

Airport customs always took a while, especially with their luggage and a baby, but Reade was tolerating things well. He only got upset when his lion had to go through the machine but calmed down when Kevin showed it to him on the screen of the X-ray machine. Edd watched them with a smile. Kevin was so good with Reade, knowing just how to calm him.

Having recovered their bags and Leo the Lion, they moved on to board the plane. Edd carried Reade and Kevin stowed their bags above their seats. Edd sat near the window and put Reade between them for the ride. The boy didn't like the belt that was put across his tummy, but didn't cry. Edd explained that it was to keep him safe and Reade held Leo up to Kevin and tugged on the belt. Kevin chuckled and put the Lion under Reade's belt too.

Edd pulled out Reade's pillow and blanket, leaving them folded on his lap for until after take-off. The flight attendant announced that everyone should buckle their seatbelts and went through the pre-take-off spiel about safety and exits and the oxygen masks.

Kevin stretched his hand over and put it on the back of Edd's neck and kneaded the muscles gently. Edd looked over at him and smiled. "Are you excited, Kevin?"

The red-head nodded. "Yeah. Are you?"

Edd's expression softened. "Yes. I am. This is our first vacation as a family."

Kevin bit the inside of his cheek at the mention of them being a family. He was still getting used to having a son and what would eventually be a husband. Kev pulled Edd close over Reade and kissed him. "I love you."

Edd's smile returned. "I love you too."

Kevin smiled and felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down to see Reade with a kissy face again. He chuckled and leaned down to kiss him too. "You Vincent boys sure do like kisses."

The older Vincent male leaned over and kissed him again. "Yes. We do."

Kev couldn't wait to touch down because that meant he could have Edd closer.

[Magma]

Three hours and two diaper changes later, they landed at LAX. Reade had slept most of the way snuggled up with Leo. He was still groggy so Kevin kept him tight against him as they went through customs in LA. They waited at the carousel for their luggage. Edd grabbed all of their bags, handing Kevin one of the handles to one of the big bags so he could pull it behind him as they walked to the car rental center. Kevin had reserved a car for them since they would be in Santa Monica for a week.

Edd received the keys from the man behind the counter and directions to the proper car in the lot. They thanked him after choosing the right car seat for Reade and headed out to find the right car. To Kevin's disappointment, Edd had made him choose a more economic car.

Bags loaded and Reade safely tucked into his seat, they made their way up to Santa Monica. Kevin drove around the town before finally parking at their hotel and going to get their keys while Edd got Reade out of the car.

Kevin got their bags and managed to balance most of them and Edd pulled one of the big ones while carrying Reade. Elevators were a godsend when you had that many bags and Kevin thanked the mechanical gods that the hotel had one.

Edd unlocked the door and Kevin dragged everything in as Reade was set down. The little brunette toddled past the living room and beds over to the glass sliding door and banged on it in happiness as he made giggling noises. Kevin chuckled behind them and unloaded his burden onto the floor in the "bedroom" part of their suite. Edd sat down on the bed and flopped backwards, sighing as his back relaxed.

Kevin went to make sure the glass door was locked so Reade wouldn't be able to get out onto the balcony. He didn't need to have a heart attack today. Edd sat up as he walked past and grabbed his hand, pulling him down. Kevin grinned at him, their face inches apart. "I haven't forgotten." He laid a kiss on Edd's mouth. "Have to get the brat to take a nap first."

Edd bit his lip. "I know. Just wanted a kiss. I haven't seen you enough over the last few weeks. Can you blame me?"

Kevin shook his head and thought about the long hours he'd been pulling at the shop to prepare for his going on vacation. "No. I've missed you too." He kissed Edd again, nibbling lightly on his lip. "But we have a whole week to get sick of each other," he said, smiling.

Edd laughed, flushed slightly. "I will never get sick of you, Kevin."

Kevin winked at him and straightened. "I'm counting on it."

Edd felt a real blush come over his face for the first time in years as Kevin went to start unpacking their things into the dressers. He covered his mouth to hide his smile as he watched him do the mundane task. Kevin often said such things, reminding him of the promise he'd made the night of Reade's birthday. He glanced down when Reade pulled on the bottom of his cargo shorts. The boy was looking up at him with his hands making grabbing motions. Edd bent, chuckling, and picked him up, putting him on the bed beside him. Reade crawled up to where the pillows were and plopped down. Leo had made the trip, clutched tight in his fist.

Kevin laughed quietly behind him. "He's going to sleep the day away."

Edd smiled at his son and watched him close his eyes, instantly asleep in the way only toddlers could be. He heard Kevin moving around behind him before he felt a rough hand touch his neck, cupping the back of it to bring Edd's face up to his for a kiss. His lashes fell to his cheekbones as he welcomed the warm weight of Kevin's mouth on his. He was tugged up off the bed and around the wall that separated the bedroom from the living room, his mouth never leaving Kevin's. Kevin pulled him to the couch, nudging him to sit. Edd knew what Kevin was up to so he cooperated, tearing his mouth from the red head's long enough to sit.

[Mollusca Cephalopoda Octopodiformes]

They ended up snuggling up with Reade after their quick romp in the living room, taking a nap that both of them hadn't had in a long time. The baby was cradled between them as they cuddled up close. Kevin ran his fingers through Edd's hair, the white patch at his temple not nearly as shocking as it had been. Now, it was just yet another quirk that made up Edd. The brunette hummed, turning his face to kiss Kevin's wrist. Kev smiled and leaned over to kiss Edd's forehead.

Blue eyes flipped open to look at him, a lazy smile spreading across Edd's mouth. The gap in his teeth made an appearance as he spoke quietly over his son. "I love you. I'm glad we're together."

Kev's smile softened and he stroked Edd's cheek with his thumb. "Love you too, Edd. I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world."

Edd's eyes drifted closed at the quiet comfort. "I know, Kevin."

The brunette's hand slid over to his waist, teasing up under the hem of his shirt to press flat on his hip above the hem of his boxers. Kevin's temperature rose at the light touch, but he restrained it, focusing on them. "You're all I need."

Edd chuckled quietly. "As are you."

A squeak came from between them and they looked down. Reade was moving in his sleep.

Kev pulled Edd close and pressed their foreheads together, connecting them and encircling the person who had brought them together.

[Cardamom]

They spent the better part of the week just picking things to try, spending ninety percent of their days in boardshorts. Kevin dragged Edd around, getting him to relax and just enjoy their time away from school and the shop.

They found out that they could rent bicycles down on the pier and take them out to see the city. They put Reade in a pull-along cart that attached to the back of Edd's bike. He and Leo seemed to enjoy that, not crying or fussing as they pedaled all over.

Kevin hadn't been on a bike in years and he wondered why as he watched Edd move along in front of him. He found he had missed it more than he had realized. He saw to it that Edd was enjoying himself as well. The smile on the brunette's face was as relaxed as he had ever seen it.

[Solanaceae]

Every night, they went into L.A. and had dinner at a different restaurant, both of them enjoying having the option and luxury to do so. Edd chose whichever ones he thought looked interesting. Kevin followed along, not truly caring about the food.

He was, and always would be, more interested in his company at the dinner table.

A complete stranger could have barely glanced their way as they broke bread and seen the inescapable fate of the little family sitting at the table. Kevin's face was settled into an expression of fascination and quiet contentment and Edd's was one of a man who was relaxed for the first time in years.

[Egyptian Mau]

Their last day in Santa Monica, they decided to spend it on the pier. Edd talked Kevin out of boardshorts and into khaki cargos and a t-shirt while he wore a polo and black shorts.

Kevin forgot his keys that afternoon, leaving Edd and Reade at the car while he ran back up the two flights of stairs to their room (He didn't forget his keys, btw.) to retrieve them.

At Edd's insistence, they began their day at the aquarium. They spent longer than they had originally planned because of Edd's commentary and Reade's unwillingness to leave the "fishies". Kevin wasn't complaining though. One of his favourite things about Edd was his love of natural things, explaining everything with the same loving tone of voice he'd used when they were children.

Eventually, they coaxed Reade out of the aquarium with the promise of ice cream.

Kev walked around with Reade perched on top of his shoulders, tiny hands in his long hair, holding on as he held onto the boy's ankles. Edd had his camera out, snapping photos of them together.

The carousel was their next stop. Kev insisted that Edd take Reade and relinquish the camera. Reade chose the lion to ride on in front of Edd. Kevin straddled a zebra next to them and took a load of pictures.

His favourite one, though, was when Reade leaned back against his father and smiled up at him with the few teeth he had, his curly hair a mess around his face, and Edd looking down at him with a soft smile. Knowing what Edd had gone through for the baby made that picture all the more precious.

They wandered around after that, getting a few gifts for their parents that they tucked into Reade's diaper bag.

Kevin was delaying until almost sunset to ride the Ferris Wheel with the excuse that he wanted to see the colours on the water.

Nervousness settled over Kevin as they waited in line; the sun was just beginning to set, the first tinges of pink touching the horizon.

Reade was placed on the bench between them as they climbed into their basket. Kevin's hand subtly brushed over his pocket to make sure it was still there. The lump reassured him as they were locked in. His arm went around Edd's shoulders as their basket began its ascent. The brunette looked over at him, smiling.

Kevin's heart stuttered as the sunset's first vestiges settled on the plains of Edd's face. The younger man looked down at his son to make sure he was okay with the height but Reade was demonstrating his ability to sleep anywhere as he leaned against Kevin's side. His little body must have been worn out from so much excitement in one day.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Kevin spoke, "Hey, Edd."

Blue eyes flicked up to his. "Yes, Kevin?" Curiosity sparked, reflected with the colours of the sky in pale eyes.

The red-head rubbed his hand on his shorts, not entirely comfortable. "I've got something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Edd's brows came down over his eyes. "Kevin, are you alright? What's wrong?"

He figured he probably did look pale. "I'm fine, Edd." He rubbed his thumb on the back of the other man's neck. "You know I love you and Reade more than anything, right?"

The line between Edd's brows deepened. "Yes, Kevin, I know that. What's all this about all of a sudden? You're scaring me."

Their basket stopped at the top of the cycle, the sun setting everything ablaze with colour, as Kevin sank his hand into his pocket. He started talking. "Two years ago, you came home and absolutely turned everything upside-down for me. But I wouldn't have had it any other way. I promised you almost two years ago that I would do this the right way." He pulled the velvet box out of his pocket and gave it to Edd. "You promised me you would take my last name. I was wondering if you were ready to keep that promise yet."

Edd was speechless at what Kevin said. He hadn't been expecting this. He flipped the lid of the box open. In satin, a silver band sat ensconced. Three black diamonds surrounded by three white diamonds on either side were set into the silver. He covered his mouth and closed his eyes, letting the memory burn into his mind forever.

"Edd?" Kevin prodded gently.

He opened wet eyes and looked over at Kevin. He looked concerned. "Yes, I'm ready to keep my promise."

Kevin's face smoothed out into a grin as he pulled Edd over to kiss him hard, fumbling with the box between them to put the ring on Edd's finger.

THe wheel began moving as they kissed over their son, hands in each others' hair. The attendant had to clear his throat before they untangled themselves from each other. Kevin picked up Reade, putting him against his shoulder. Edd asked a random passerby if she would take a photo of them in the dying light.

Both of them were beaming in the photo. Reade was held between them. Edd positioned his hand on Kevin's shoulder so the ring could be seen.

[Sage]

Kevin had the photo framed when they returned, always keeping it on his desk. His elation didn't fade when he looked at it. He just felt nervous and ecstatic all over again.

Love would do that to you, though.


	13. Reade Marshall Vincent-Barr

Affaire de Coeur - Epilogue

[Hero: This is the last chapter. Thank you so much to all of my wonderful followers that have cheered me on and made me keep writing this. I love all of you more than words can express. You are all stars in my night sky that guide me home. So, dear readers, this is dedicated to you for everything you have given me. I truly do not deserve you.

Disclaimer: With my deepest regrets, I say this for the last time on this one: I do not own these lovely babies. They are just so very precious to me.]

"Daaaaad." The word alone shouldn't have been eventful, but it had been strung out by a teenager begging off an argument. Naturally, it came out dripping with a whininess only children could manage.

"Reade Marshall Vincent-Barr, do you have yet another piercing in your face?When I specifically told you no more?" Eddward was glaring at his seventeen year-old son, loathing his husband. It had been his fault this whole thing started. One trip to the tattoo parlor with Kevin and Reade couldn't keep from sticking things through his face and ears. Tattoos were a hanging offense even though Kevin had several, but that didn't stop Reade from pushing metal bars through his face.

Reade didn't say anything, he just stood, staring at his father.

Edd moved, exasperated, to the stairs to yell upwards. "Bronson Kevin Barr, get down here! Now!" Wrath filled him. His beautiful son was determined to destroy his perfect complexion.

The boy pushed raven bangs out of his eyes, just like his fathers, darkened by adolescent rage, and leaned on one long leg. His fair skin and slender frame made him seem small, but he promised to be taller than Edd when he quit growing.

Edd stared at his son, keeping the seething teen in place. Moments later, Kevin came downstairs, dripping from a shower with jeans slung low on his hips, ruffling a towel over his hair. "What's going on?"

"Your son has another piercing in his face, Kevin." Edd pointed an accusing finger at Reade.

Kevin rolled his eyes heavenward. "He's only my son when he's done something stupid." He had yet to even look at Reade. It was still one of his favourite pass-times to annoy Edd. He grinned when Edd puffed up to give him a piece of his mind. Ignoring the blustering engineer, he turned to the teen. Wrapping his towel around his neck as he approached Reade, he grabbed Reade's jaw, already losing its baby fat, in a strong hand and inspected the steel hoop wrapped around the adolescent's lip. Blue eyes that hadn't changed since he had first seen them looked up at him with fear of rejection.

With his back to Edd, he winked at the kid. "You cleaned it yet?"

"Kevin!"

Edd's indignant shout just made the red-head raise a brow and look at him over his shoulder. "What? It's done. Can't be undone now. He's got to take care of it." He ignored Edd's blustering and turned back to his son. "There's peroxide and antiseptic mouthwash in my cabinet. Go use them. You're still in trouble." He gave Reade a stern look, green eyes serious, before he let go of him.

Reade darted past Edd to run upstairs. Edd was furious and his anger had just attached itself to Kevin. "Did you really tell our son that he can keep that thingin his face?"

The mechanic approached Edd slowly. He raised his hands to hold Edd's upper arms. "Edd, calm down. He is seventeen years old. Let him figure out who he is and what he likes. My father never let me do that for myself. I don't want to be that kind of dad. This is the best time for him to do worst thing that can happen is he has a small scar the size of a pinhead to show his friends in ten years." Edd's eyes welled with tears and Kevin pulled him close. "Edd, he's growing up. He'll be eighteen soon. We can't tell him no forever. He really is a good kid. I think he does most of it to get a rise out of you."

Edd punched his arm, still being held against Kevin's chest. "I blame you for that, you ass," he said against Kevin's shoulder.

The red-head chuckled. "I take full responsibility for that one." He set Edd away from him. "Listen, go make some tea. I'll go talk to our trouble-maker."

Edd nodded and kissed his husband. "Fine. He can keep it. But I don't like it."

Kevin pulled Edd close again and kissed him like he had the first time and every day in between. "I love you," he said against his brunette's mouth.

Edd smiled. "I love you too," he said, face lightly flushed. Even after more than fifteen years together, Kevin could still make him blush. "Go make sure he's alright." Concern for his only son had over-ridden his anger, as had guilt.

Kevin nodded. "I will. Go make tea. It will take your mind off it."

He turned Edd toward the kitchen and walked up the stairs. The light under Reade's door was on so he knocked. He got permission to enter so he pushed the door open.

Reade's room had changed drastically over the years. Gone were the pale green walls, replaced by a deep purple covered in band posters and banners. Clothes littered the floor and drove Edd crazy. The object of his affection sat on his bed against the headboard with his knees pulled tight against his chest.

Kevin sat near his feet on the side of the bed. He watched Reade's face. "You know what you did wrong, right?" He got a nod but no verbal answer. Reade only got quiet when he was thinking. Kevin tugged on a lock of his son's hair. "You alright, kid?"

The raven remained quiet for a long moment. He poked at the new hoop in his lip with his tongue. "Da…" He paused. "I…" He couldn't quite get the words to formulate. He put his head on his knees for a long moment before finally looking back up. "I… There's this thing in my head that tells me that aggravating Dad is fun. But I always feel bad after. I mean… I don't regret getting it done, but I don't like Dad being mad at me."

Kevin smiled. "You are such a good kid. Reade, he's not mad at you. Trust me. I've had that man mad at me. You'll know when he's angry. He's just worried about you. He wants you to be happy. He's struggling with the thought of you growing up, son. I am too, but I learned what not to do from my father. I know how important it is for you to be your own person." He patted Reade's knee. "Your dad does too. We love you. And we want you to figure out who you are."

Reade looked at him as if trying to puzzle something out. The resemblance between father and son struck Kevin as he watched Reade struggle with whatever problem he was solving.

"Da, how do you know you love somebody?"

Kevin felt like he had just been sacked. From behind. He took a deep breath and studied his son's face. Reade wasn't one to ask questions without a purpose. He thought about how to answer. "When I fell for your dad, it was a gradual thing. It snuck up on me." He hadn't talked about this in a long time. He cleared his throat. "I thought about him all the time. I wanted to be around him as much as I could." He smiled. "I didn't realize I was falling for him until it was too late." He met Reade's cyan eyes. "Why do you ask, son?"

The younger brunette rubbed the back of his neck. "Just curious." But Kevin saw the blush that dusted his son's cheeks.

He chuckled. "Well, you know you can talk to me or your dad anytime about 'just curious'."

Reade gave him a sheepish smile. "Yeah, okay."

Kevin stood. "Come on. Your dad's making tea."

Reade unfolded himself and stood next to his Da. Unexpectedly, he stepped to Kevin and wrapped his arms around the red-head's waist. "Thanks, Da."

Surprised, Kevin smiled and hugged him back. "You're welcome, son." He kissed shaggy hair and led him downstairs to have tea and grilled cheeses with Edd.

Even after years together, Kevin didn't quite know how to answer Reade's question. It wasn't really one that could be explained.

Love, after all, is an affair of the heart.

[Hero: I don't have much to say, other than thank you. A million thank yous. Please, just know that every single little note that each one of you sent me made this possible, because I wouldn't have finished it without you. But now, we can move on to greater things together.]


End file.
